City Conversations: Skyscraping

Skyscraping – everything you wanted to know about tall buildings but were afraid to ask.

The next City Conversations will look at the perceived need for cities to build taller and for the construction industry to compete in satisfying that demand.

Does this obscure a more important discussion around density, city planning and the sustainability of tall buildings? For example, we need tall buildings to satisfy the demand for living space in a compact city. But how tall is healthy for the environment or the occupant? Why are clusters seen as desirable and why can we not get over the stigma left by previous generations of tall buildings?

Speakers include:

- Neil Billett, design director at BuroHappold Engineering (chair)

- Simon Allford, director of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

- Barbara Weiss, director of Barbara Weiss Architects and co-founder of the Skyline Campaign

- Klaus Bode, board director at ChapmanBDSP

- Joana Goncalves, associate professor of environmental design at the University of Sao Paulo

- Philip Steadman, research fellow and emeritus professor of Urban and Built Form Studies at UCL

This talk is free to attend but booking is essential.