A Mesmerizing Interactive History of the High-Rise

"A Short History of the Highrise" tells the technical, social, and cultural history of vertical living in a spellbinding series of short films with rhyming narration, intricate animation, and interactive materials. It starts with Roman experiments in apartment living for the working poor made of mud and timber, and continues through the cliff dwellings of Arizona, stacked circular buildings of rural China, and Yemen's medieval "Manhattan of the Desert". An in-depth examination of the modern era of high-rise construction begins with the "game changing" invention of the elevator.

The "opinionated documentary" was created in conjunction with the National Film Board of Canada's HIGHRISE project.