Another interesting one from The Economist.
Amazing how in the depths of the depression we're able to create the classical beauties of skyscrapers in New York City with the arcane technology of the 20's and 30's.
Now, we have these minimalist monstronsities being thrown up because materials are cheap and to ornate the building with detail would cost too much money, thus thrusting crappy architecture on the masses. Great.
Didn't someone make the point that the tallest building in the world is always built just before a crash? -- Something with cheap, unsustainable credit, I think :-)
ReplyDeleteGabriel beat me to the punch - I was going to suggest the massive influx of cheap, inflationary credit as one of the factors leading to the construction of such towers prior to the great depression...
ReplyDeleteThe article in the Economist (from which you got your chart) also mentions some of the inherent difficulties in maintaining buildings of that size - finding enough tenants and what-not.
Yeah, it was addressed in the article. And Gabriel may be more right than he knows, how many "world's tallest towers" have been planned in the past 4 years?
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