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What Skyscrapers Says About A City’s Culture – the United States vs Europe vs Asia

When I came across an article about the Triangle Tower, Paris first Skyscraper in almost 50 years, I was intrigued.
First off, the render of the tower looks incredible, like a glass house of cards.
And I started reading the article assuming Parisians must be excited about this stunning tower.
But in reality, that is far from the truth.
First, the cities in Europe were full of historic buildings before the first skyscrapers were built in Chicago and New York in the late 19th early 20th centuries.
And Europeans Governments didn't want to tamper with the historic buildings, let alone replace them with Skyscrapers.
Even after WWII, European Governments restored their cities to their pre-war state as much as they could.
European attitudes toward skyscrapers went a step further in the 60s and 70s.
Skyscrapers were trending during this time, and some cities in Europe were demolishing old buildings and replacing them with high-rises.
Some cities were particularly more aggressive in this practice than others, notable Brussels.
Many Europeans found tall buildings to be unsightly and ruined the charm of the cities, so much so that the term Brusselization was coined to describe the situation.
This reaction to Brusselization led to sweeping regulations and restrictions that impeded the construction of skyscrapers across the continent.
Fast forward to today, European cities preserve their charm and generally have dedicated areas that allow skyscrapers.
London, for instance, protects the views of St. Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben, and Westminster palace, ensuring the buildings can be seen from long distances.
So, it's not a coincidence that Paris hasn't approved the construction of a Skyscraper since the 70s Brusselization era.
On the surface, the Triangle Tower looks to me like a building that would be a treasured addition to any city.
It will contain a 120-room four-star hotel, office space, and cultural facilities.
Stakeholders claim that the building will bring thousands of jobs into the local economy.
And the building seems to be quite sensical considering it will be located in the heart of the second-largest exhibition center in France and will be the only 9km away from the Airport.
But as I alluded to earlier, the majority of Parisians hate the Triangle Tower project.
As a matter of fact, a survey found that 62% of Parisians oppose skyscrapers in principle.
And there's a pressure group against the Triangle Tower.
The group says the tower will create a devastating effect on the area and will block the city skyline.
Now the tolerance for skyscrapers varies from city to city and country to country.
There are cities like Rome on one extreme that completely reject skyscrapers, and then there are Moscow and Istanbul on the other end, each with over 100 towers.
Indeed, based on what you see in the movies, European cities appear not to have many skyscrapers.
But many do, the cities like to keep them hidden from view like eyesores.
However, for cities in the US, the skyscrapers themselves are a massive part of their heritage.
Then again, we don't have ancient ruins and medieval castles and cathedrals.
The closest thing we have to the roman colosseum is Fenway Park, which opened in 1912, and I mean that in all seriousness, that is a treasured landmark here.
Most of our grand buildings and monuments are concentrated in DC, and I do not think it is a coincidence that the city that most resembles a European city.
With DC height restriction laws, buildings can be no more than 6 meters taller than the width of the street that it faces.
Therefore, buildings are generally no more than 13 stories tall in DC.
But between New York and Chicago, The US was home to the tallest building in the world for over 100 years from 1890 to 1998.
All things considered, there's no extra motivation for investors to finance a record-breaking project and to pursuit getting around restrictions.