Skyscrapers
#TraditionalBuildings
2023-10-03If we consider the global population’s continuous rise and the increasing demand for natural spaces, skyscrapers emerge as a remarkable compromise between development and the environment, a building typology that consumes less land than ever before. Originating in the USA and exported to cities worldwide for economic reasons, we are now witnessing their presence in rural areas due to ecological considerations. Skyscrapers constitute the most prominent aspect of a city, defining its skyline and effectively acting as its logo. However, in most cases, we would struggle to identify their specific geographic location. It’s easy to recognize the location of a religious building, a house, or a square, but identifying the origin of a skyscraper is often a challenge.
While different contexts around the world have given rise to diverse architectural forms and solutions for various building typologies, skyscrapers tend to remain essentially the same regardless of their location. In a way, this uniformity arises from a fundamental characteristic: their immense height. Once at such heights, where one can see without visual boundaries, it feels like standing in front of a screen, a device that can be transported anywhere. Some might argue that certain skyscrapers do convey a sense of place at first glance. However, it’s worth questioning whether these impressions are more about them being iconic structures, strong expressions of their creators, rather than products of their immediate context. These days, they might be seen as part of their surroundings mostly due to media exposure.
These are inventions. When they are genuinely innovative, they are often granted leeway, even if they appear inconsistent in their applications. What they express is not merely assessed based on their suitability for a particular situation but on the innovative ideas they embody.
Are skyscrapers the outcomes of their environments? Do they reflect their communities? Answering these questions isn’t straightforward. Skyscrapers often don’t result from local construction techniques, cultural expressions, or actual needs. Even when, in rare cases, they are designed considering specific climatic conditions, they remain associated with a problem rather than the local context. They are not expressions; they are solutions and, as such, have a problem of their own: they can become obsolete. At that point, if they lack a compelling narrative, they lose their value and can be demolished. Of course, the market prioritizes outcomes over relevance, favoring short-term financial gains. However, in the long run, real value lies in meaning. To us, something is valuable only when it has a story to tell. For investors, they are not even constructions; they are numbers, and their design is merely a marketing tool.
While multiplying available space within a desirable city has its merits, the appeal of a place decreases proportionally with its resemblance to other cities. Icons, even though they can be exported anywhere, are not what we truly need. What we require are expressions that align with their context. We can either force-fit standardized ideas into a given context or create something new by listening to and respecting that context.