Skyscrapers as the Enemy of Cities

Eric Reguly laments the construction of skyscrapers in the European Union, especially in London, where locals have assigned pejorative nicknames, like the Gherkin, the Cheesegrater and the Walkie Talkie, to the skyline's newcomers.

"The problem isn’t modern architecture per se. When the modern complements the old, it can enhance a city—the Blackfriars station, the Sainsbury Wing of London’s National Gallery and even the glass pyramid at the Louvre are all examples. But when the scale is enormous, and when it has no connection to the features that have given the city its personality for hundreds of years, it overshadows that city’s character. The new look is bland and homogenized."

Reguly notes that Toronto, Paris, and other European capitals are joining the "vertical sweepstakes" and identifies a few problems with the trend. The talking points in the anti-skyscraper argument, as listed by Reguly, include environmental concerns, the single-purpose nature of many of the structures, and the loss of urban identity.