Raise the Hammer

"...But those two towers should be signatures on our skyline." ~ TreyS

"...Most cities try to go taller with time and build their core neighbourhoods and skyline. We're trying to do the opposite..." ~ jason

Tall, Lean and Sexy

Here is to looking at tall buildings and taller mistakes. Much like a cluster of tall buildings often pretends to be a city - this comment is pretending to believe that we are having a real discourse on architecture and urban futures here. How many of us would give up a limb to live in an unique, timeless and appropriately scaled urbane city rather than an inappropriately scaled cluster of date-stamped gheryish buildings?

Why is that we always associate tall and lean with sexy? or why is that to be considered "sexy" - we choose tall and lean - often with a rich dollop of fragmented fuzz or gooey ooze as its defining characteristics?

What about short, squat and sexy? or medium, dense and sexy? why do these words fail to light up our hormones as easily as tall, lean and sexy does?

Throw in a glass curtain wall and the combination: Tall, Lean and Sexy (TLS) starts to sizzle - and our synapses start to hyperventilate. We are on fire and our smoke filled brain makes us genuflect right there and then on the streets, in front of our TLS towers - screaming in reverence: Oh God... yes! yes! yes!!

Mile-high tower ~ Frank Lloyd Wright

The thought of architectural bestiality does cross the minds of elderly residents who have lived in one of those tall sexy things through the last power outage or the last time they forgot to pick up something on their way home, and had to go down all the way once again in inclement weather.

Now we are talking of a totally different kind of going all the way down here! but our preferences should be of no concern to them... besides those pesky elderly will soon be dead anyways, and after all it is our life and our future we are talking about here - so what right do they have anyways to judge us on what we worship?

You can almost feel the silent horror on the faces of the young mothers in strollers with little gurgling babies, as they pass us genuflecting on the streets screaming... yes! yes!! yes!!! One does begin to understand the true meaning of architecture, as we continue to ignore their disgust as they go up and down the TLS towers often twice and even three times a day, passing us as they traverse long hallways on longer elevator rides to their play dates in the park or their daily live/work rituals.

Why do shorter, glass encased buildings fail to mesmerize us any more?

The Bell building on King across from the art gallery simply does not cut it for us. It is simply short and stubby. Even its glass curtain wall fails to jiggle our testosterone. We simply go... ugh! at such sights, or worse, we glibly ignore its existence by politely saying: what building?

So, what is really going on here? Cultural conditioning? size bias? obsessive preferences? compulsive behaviour? genuine concern for density and sustainability? machismo? or benign pigheadedness?

Now before we jump to conclusions here and turn this into a local thing, let us be fair - we are not alone in our preference for architectural bestiality. Many cities across the globe are prone to the seductive charms of TLS towers. 2300 feet is way too short and stubby... we go blergh!

TLS definitely does seem to do things to a lot of people in many cities. But what is it that it really does?

The new Mile-High tower

Maybe it is time for a new kind of urban anthropology to emerge and shed light on our condition.

My guess is this has something to do with how it makes some people feel deep down inside - possibly related to mortality and the dubious need to triumph over natures processes.

I suppose tall, glassy, slender, well contoured objects energizes some, and makes them feel younger and in control. Age, contours and sex are after all the defining markers of our times. The word 'cool' may be trying to say all of this in a hurry.

This thing about TLS being an answer to density, ecology, livability, small foot-print on earth, distinctive urban signatures for economic development and ROI/EBITDA reasons, social or technological progress of mankind, celebration of the human spirit...etc., etc., is pure unmitigated blather which we know all too well deep inside, but come on, who has not failed to sneak a longing glance, sideways at a TLS goddess or otherwise, strutting down the street? We are hardwired for the unsustainable. Like moths we zoom in knowing well the repercussions. Hey, even our pastors fall prey to such longings... we after all are just humans.

Can you name a single invention or a social innovation worth mentioning in history which can be causally tied to the 'coolness' of a building?

TLS affirms that age is not going to catch up with the infatuated as yet, and possession of it or basking in its glory provides a physical manifestation of the abstract notion of power which is the ultimate aphrodisiac. It also gives the ultimate physical meaning to the abstract tonal ejaculation: "yes! yes!! yes!!! Oh God, yes! which is merely attempting to say: I have finally arrived - or in any case almost about to... so, come watch and share with me my fulfillment!

TLS becomes an extension of one's own self in many ways and propels libidinal energies which drives the 'gotcha have it right now' thinking. However, I really doubt that it could do anything for long-term fulfillment - which is why pharmaceutical companies are multi-billion dollar operations, and penthouses go for a premium - while couples in TLS situations most often than not, have a higher rate of split-ups while all psychiatrists upon graduation are pre-qualified for TLS condo mortgages.

Two-Mile-High tower, The Ultima ~ Eugene Tsui... a colossal disconnect in the name of Biophilia

But as many soon discover, TLS objects - animate or inanimate, end up requiring a lot more nurturing and maintenance - much more than their operating manual disclose. Thoughts about super high-maintenance and short shelf-life are never mentioned. They simply don't matter when one is genuflecting in deep-worship mode.

For the umpteenth time "evidence" based thinking clearly tells us: please! please!! stay away from TLS, please!!! it is not good for the heart and simply not good for the soul, let alone the old tired bones. But the libidinal energy is simply too intense to resist, let alone abstain.

The tallest spires in the city were a metaphorically connect with an higher power which set the limits to physical aspirations. Some of us thought it was pointing us towards unbridled heights - while all they were attempting was to attract a larger congregation from far and wide in order to physically structure society and give it an aesthetic and social meaning that was grounded in sustainability.

And while we once genuflected in front of them too, for entirely different reasons - the rational in our times has changed, our Gods are different now.

Is there any chance that the heights to which the church spires aspired is the optimum our civilization has been designed to handle - before it starts to fold on itself?

Remember back when the church spires were the tallest in the city - essentially a city's skyline signature?

Building anything higher than the height of the tallest spires in older cities was once taboo, for it not only marred the very distinctive skyline of the city, but more importantly, it also damaged society's sustainability and generated an aesthetic overreach.

Maybe there is a metaphysical, and in turn, a divine mathematical connection between societal sustainability and the height of church spires.

On the other hand, maybe there are no such connections. God after all is directly beamed into our private surround-sound chapels in our times via HDTV - be it on the sixth floor or the hundred and sixtieth.

But nonetheless, it is something worth looking into - for it must be a real puzzle for our seniors to watch some among us genuflecting in front of TLS objects - hands clasped, head bowed in reverence, moving rhythmically in self-pleasure, screaming yes! yes! yes! oh God! yes!! ...even, more! give me more!! now! yes!!

The New Kingdom Tower

Evidence is nasty business. It is humbling, well-meaning, yet brutal and has a way of taking away our small pleasures and even smaller indulgences for the larger good. So we fight it everyday. To circumvent it we have invented a novel approach. We have usurped its very essence which gives us the latitude to say and do what we want by liberally sprinkling our conversations with: "evidence-based" talk - the ultimate co-option of 'evidence' to legitimize our frequent sideway glances.

The suburbanites are not the only ones who stand accused of being in denial of evidence - we urbanites are equally culpable of being unsustainable based on our weakness for the TLS.

Some thoughts on "crafting the city's future -- not just topping off the skyline.":

• The San Francisco Paradox: When good cities have bad architecture. (Thread)

• Nothing to lose with lower towers: Design would still be striking but fit in.

• A voice from the past: 1, 2 which may help understand what really constitutes sexiness among the short and squat of architecture; and some tall ideas resurrected 3,4 to validate our own.

• The blunt 'cutting-edge' of architectural design thinking in our times. (a, b, c, d)

A Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! and hopefully we begin to worship the little things in our lives in the coming year 2012 - which just may be the defining year for the human race in our times.

Mahesh P. Butani

Comment edited by Mahesh_P_Butani on 2011-12-25 07:54:57