skyscrapers (New York, Mexico, York: house, tenants, construction)
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Look New York City is gaining big skyscrapers slowly. Example New York Times Building, 1046 feet, Bank of America Tower, 1200 feet and in the near future the Freedom Tower, and towers 2, 3, 4 which are huge in there own right.
Dubai is wealthy because of the area's oil reserves. The demand these days are so high for it, they have the money to build anything they really want. Great city.
New York also has legal restrictions. Things like air rights, planning committees, zoning committees, community groups. It ain't as easy with democratic government and with a population which has decided that perhaps the grand canyons of man aren't all they're cracked-up to be.
These countries build skylines because of New York's skyline. They want to show off their power and their pride and they mimic us to do it. New York is beautiful in its way, but is it Paris or Venice or St. Petersburg? No. These new cities aren't emulating those older, arguably more beautiful cities, they're trying to be New York.
New York also has legal restrictions. Things like air rights, planning committees, zoning committees, community groups. It ain't as easy with democratic government and with a population which has decided that perhaps the grand canyons of man aren't all they're cracked-up to be.
These countries build skylines because of New York's skyline. They want to show off their power and their pride and they mimic us to do it. New York is beautiful in its way, but is it Paris or Venice or St. Petersburg? No. These new cities aren't emulating those older, arguably more beautiful cities, they're trying to be New York.
last time i checked, nyc is not the center of the universe. do you think, maybe, perhaps, possibly, that these asian cities don't look like older european cities because those cities developed *before* the skyscraper (not invented in nyc, by the way)? and that maybe, perhaps, possibly, nyc isn't the only city with a skyline somewhat similar to these asian cities?
What about Chicago? this is one city that people sometimes forget when they talk about international skylines. Asian cities are pretty, but most of their skylines are just apartment buildings. They have such a a high density of people, they have no choice but to build and build tall. NYC on the other hand has a mix of history and culture when it comes to a skyline. Also, people tend to forget that NYC is not just one skyline, but 3 (Midtown, Downtown, and Downtown Brooklyn.) (all pics are from Wikipedia)
I think it is also unfair to NY, that when people talk about a "skyline" they almost always bring up the metro area as a whole. While not talking about the city in general. What about Jersey City across the Hudson?
last time i checked, nyc is not the center of the universe. do you think, maybe, perhaps, possibly, that these asian cities don't look like older european cities because those cities developed *before* the skyscraper (not invented in nyc, by the way)? and that maybe, perhaps, possibly, nyc isn't the only city with a skyline somewhat similar to these asian cities?
I didn't say it was the only city with a skyline somewhat similar. I said it's the city they're trying to be like. New York is America's premier city, its most cosmopolitan city, and it definitely is the symbol of American economic power.
New York isn't the center of the universe?? It sure feels like it.
I didn't say it was the only city with a skyline somewhat similar. I said it's the city they're trying to be like. New York is America's premier city, its most cosmopolitan city, and it definitely is the symbol of American economic power.
New York isn't the center of the universe?? It sure feels like it.
New York isn't the center of the universe?? It sure feels like it.
. . . which explains the bias in your analysis. the technology of the skyscraper fundamentally explains why most cities which developed substantially in the 20th century look similar to one another. it's not so much emulation as using the same available technology.
I've read that the Freedom Tower will initially be occupied by mostly government offices, because the private sector has no interest in renting space in the building.
. . . which explains the bias in your analysis. the technology of the skyscraper fundamentally explains why most cities which developed substantially in the 20th century look similar to one another. it's not so much emulation as using the same available technology.
I don't think there's a bias here. I have the ability to separate my fondness for New York from the fact that New York symbolizes a great deal about American power all over the world. The World Trade Center wasn't attacked just because it was tall.
Build five 20 story office buildings, give them mass transit, and you've created the same space at a fraction of the cost of building a giant skyscraper. The taller you grow, the greater costs become. Granted, some cities, particularly Hong Kong and Singapore, have very restricted buildable space, but look at the reasons buildings like the Petronas Towers, Taipei 101, Shanghai World Financial, and the Burj Dubai are being built. Their governments effuse about how having such a tall building is a statement about their wealth and sophistication. They're calling cards to the world saying that these countries have arrived.
That symbolism, the idea that skyscrapers mean something other than being just a building, comes from New York's position in the world. Taipei was settled in the early 1700s, Shanghai was settled about a thousand years earlier, Kuala Lumpur came in the mid 1800s, and Dubai has been around, on and off, for a few thousand. None of these cultures looked to their traditional architectural styles to satisfy their needs for urban space. Instead of building sideways, they built up; even when it was vastly more costly, or as in Taipei's case, dangerous to do so. It's a way of saying that they are like America in their achievements, like New York. Malaysia even went so far as to build a twin tower building.
I can't argue with Chicago. It is the definitive home of the skyscraper and is crammed full of significant modern era architecture. Chicago is not, however, the first city that the rest of the world imagines when they think of an American city. It's in the list to be sure, but not the first because it doesn't represent the seat of American economic power.
My guess is that if Venice or Paris were still the centers of world power they once were, other countries would be building cities on water or creating broad uniform avenues with large squares connecting them. They're not though. Despite the costs and the risks, they're building up and much higher up than they need to.
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