Kunstler Predicts The End Of Tall Buildings

James Howard Kunstler and Nikos A. Salingaros argue that the age of skyscrapers is at an end.

1 minute read

September 17, 2001, 7:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


With the recent tragedies comes a sobering reassessment of America's (and the World's) infatuation with skyscrapers. We are convinced that the age of skyscrapers is at an end. It must now be considered an experimental building typology that has failed. Who will ever again feel safe and comfortable working 110 stories above the ground? Or sixty stories? Or even twenty-seven? We predict that no new megatowers will be built, and existing ones are destined to be dismantled. This will lead to a radical transformation of city centers --which, however, would be an immensely positive step towards improving the quality of urban life. The only megatowers left standing a century hence may be in those third-world countries who so avidly imported the bric-a-brac of the industrialized world without realizing the damage they were inflicting on their cities.

Thanks to James Howard Kunstler and Nikos A. Salingaros

Monday, September 17, 2001 in Planetizen

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