Eric Firley is a French-German architect and urban designer. The author of The Urban Housing Handbook (John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2009), he is Assistant Professor at the University of Miami School of Architecture and heads an international research consultancy.

Julie Gimbal is a French art historian with a special interest in high-rise architecture. She holds a doctorate from the University of Rennes on the subject of high-rise architecture in France and is responsible for the second section of the book on high-rise regulations. She also helped to inform the choice of case studies in the first part of the book.

Philippe Honnorat, a French Engineer, heads the Paris office of WSP Flack + Kurtz. An expert in Mechanical and Electrical systems, he has worked in the UK and USA, and has extensive international experience in high-rise structures. Honnorat wrote the third section of the book covering sustainability issues.

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Section A: A visual dictionary of high-rise buildings

1st Group: Solitaires and Twin Towers

1 - Monument

Main example: Kingdom Centre, Riyadh

Secondary 1: Moscow State University

Secondary 2: Burj Khalifa, Dubai

2 - Monument in block

Main example: 30 St Mary Axe, London

Secondary 1: Torre Agbar, Barcelona

Secondary 2: Seagram Building, New York City

3 - Tower as block

Main example: Commerzbank Tower, Frankfurt

Secondary 1: Transamerica Pyramid, San Francisco

Seconday 2: Hotel Ukraina, Moscow

4 - Tower in block

Main example: Torre Velasca, Milan

Secondary 1: Kudamm-Karree, Berlin

Secondary 2: Norddeutsche Landesbank, Hanover

5 - Twin towers

Main example: Kungstornen, Stockholm

Secondary 1: Marina City Towers, Chicago

Secondary 2: Puerta de Europa, Madrid

6 - Tower as team player

Main example: Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building

Secondary 1: Thyssen-Haus, Düsseldorf

Secondary 2: United Nations Headquarters, New York City

7 - Tower on infrastructure

Main example: The Standard Hotel, New York City

Secondary 1: Shard London Bridge, London

Secondary 2: Tour Dexia (CBX), La Défense

8 - Tower as module / business as usual

Main example: Tour Ar Men, Paris

Secondary 1: DUOC Corporate Building, Santiago de Chile

Secondary 2: Banco Atlántico, Barcelona

2nd Group: Clusters

1 - Integrated in existing city fabric

Main example: Rockefeller Center, New York City

Secondary 1: Villeurbanne Town Hall and new centre

Secondary 2: Riverside Center, New York City

2 - Towers as urban pattern

Main example: Quartier du Palais ('Immeubles Choux'), Créteil

Secondary 1: Jianwai SOHO, Beijing

Secondary 2: Stuyvesant Town, New York City

3 - Linear cluster

Main example: Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai

Secondary 1: Playa de Levante extension, Benidorm

Secondary 2: Rue de la Loi masterplan, Brussels

4 - High-rise compound

Main example: Moma and Pop Moma, Beijing

Secondary 1: Marina Baie des Anges, Villeneuve-Loubet

Secondary 2: Icon Brickell, Miami

5 - High-rise megastructure

Main example: Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, Tokyo

Secondary 1: Parque Central, Caracas

Secondary 2: Pinnacle@Duxton, Singapore

6 - Towers in nature

Main example: Hansaviertel, Berlin

Secondary 1: Unité d'Habitation, Marseille

Secondary 2: Newton Suites, Singapore

7 - Towers on podium

Main example: Front de Seine, Paris

Secondary 1: Jumeirah Beach Residences, Dubai

Secondary 2: Tour 9, Montreuil

3rd Group: Vertical Cities

1 - US-American downtown:

Main example: Downtown Houston

2 - High-rise as norm:

Main example: Higienópolis, São Paulo

3 - High-rise as geographical obligation:

Main example: Monaco

4 - City of monuments:

Main example: Lujiazui, Shanghai

5 - European CBD:

Main example: La Défense

Secondary: La Défense extension (Tour AIR2)

6 - City of megastructures:

Main example: Hong Kong

Section B: High-rise building regulations in seven cities worldwide

London

Frankfurt

Vienna

Paris

New York

Hong Kong

Singapore

Section C: High-rise and sustainability

Comparative table

Bibliography

Index

Picture credits