TALL BUILDINGS: Aspects of their Development and Character in England
Author(s): Elain Harwood, Susie Barson, Emily Cole
Towers are much the big thing in both British architecture and planning at the moment. Already, there are proposals on the table for any number of breathtaking schemes which would result in a fresh rash of tall buildings soaring over the existing rooftops in England's greater towns and cities. Everywhere one looks, further proposals are coming forward in numbers unparalleled since the 1960s. London is inevitably the centre of the developer's ambition. Here, in the always frenzied atmosphere generated by high finance, where a competitive edge over other European and world cities is put forward as a key argument, architects are busy jostling for favouritism. Drawing boards (or rather their modern computer counterparts) groan with the weight of ever more staggering designs, which - if realized - would ensure their creator's immortality on the London skyline. But it is not just the capital which is subject to the pressure of the current craze. Every aspiring English town seems to want its tower. Regional image and pride are at stake: what is good for London, of course, is seen by regional authorities as good for them. Small wonder then that tall buildings are under serious consideration in, for example, Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, and Reading. It does not stop there - even Ramsgate is after its tower.
- Report Number:
- 140/2002
- Series:
- Other
- Pages:
- 135
