How the world’s tallest buildings reshape cities and lives, and Hong Kong skyscrapers vs Singapore’s, in new book Supertall
- In Supertall, architect Stefan Al looks at the benefits and drawbacks of vertical living in high-rise cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore, New York and London
- He says Hong Kong excels with mixed-use developments oriented around MTR stations, but exteriors can have ‘all the charm of a prison’, unlike in Singapore
Supertall: How the World’s Tallest Buildings are Reshaping Our Cities and Our Lives, by Stefan Al. Published by W.W. Norton & Co
Hong Kong is the world’s most vertical city, with more than 2,300 skyscrapers over 100 metres (328 feet) tall, according to building information directory Emporis. But the rest of the world is catching up.
Nearly three times more skyscrapers have been built in the past decade than in the 30 years before that, with forests of tall buildings sprouting on every inhabited continent, from provincial capitals in China to famously low-slung cities such as London or Amsterdam. Never before has humanity been so keen to reach for the sky.
Dutch-born architect Stefan Al – who taught at the University of Hong Kong before moving to New York in 2013, where he now teaches at the Pratt Institute – attempts to explain why in his new book, Supertall. He also looks at the consequences this race upwards will have on our increasingly vertical lives.
Billed as “the definitive book on the global skyscraper boom”, Supertall charts our fascination with tall structures from the days of ancient monuments to the new luxury towers that loom over New York’s so-called Billionaires’ Row, by way of thousands of ordinary towers sprouting in just about every city around the world.
