From one of the worldâs top experts on the economics of skyscrapersâa âfascinatingâ (Daily Mail, London) and âinformativeâ (Publishers Weekly) account of the ever-growing quest for super tall buildings across the globe.
The worldâs skyscrapers have brought us awe and wonder, and yet they remain controversialâfor their high costs, shadows, and overt grandiosity. But, decade by decade, they keep getting higher and higher. What is driving this global building spree of epic proportions? In Cities in the Sky, author Jason Barr âprovides an enjoyable, expansive study of a subject he lovesâ (Kirkus Reviews), explaining why they appeal to cities and nations, how they get financed, why they succeed economically, and how they change a cityâs skyline and enable the worldâs greatest metropolises to thrive in the 21st century.
From the Empire State Building (1,250 feet) to the Shanghai Tower (2,073 feet) and everywhere in between, Barr explains the unique architectural and engineering efforts that led to the creation of each structure. Along the way, he visits and unpacks some surprising myths about the earliest skyscrapers and the growth of American skylines after World War II, which incorporated a new suite of technologies that spread to the rest of the world in the 1990s. Barr also explores why London banned skyscrapers at the end of the 19th century but then embraced them in the 21st and explains how Hong Kong created the densest cluster of skyscrapers on the planet. Also covered is the dramatic result of Chinaâs âskyscraper feverâ and then on to the Arabian Peninsula to see what drove Dubai to build the worldâs tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, which at 2,717 feet, is higher than the new One World Trade Center in New York by three football fields.
Filled with fascinating details for urbanists, architecture buffs, and urban design enthusiasts alike, Cities in the Sky âmasterfully weaves together the history, myths, economics, and engineering behind the most iconic structures across the worldâs skylinesâ to showcase âthe ambition, ingenuity, and vision that encourage us to build higher and bolderâ (Grady Hillhouse, creator of Practical Engineering).