Urban Towers Handbook

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.

• Preface AcknowledgementsIntroductionSection A: A visual dictionary of high-rise buildings1st Group: Solitaires and Twin Towers1 – MonumentMain example: Kingdom Centre, RiyadhSecondary 1: Moscow State UniversitySecondary 2: Burj Khalifa, Dubai2 – Monument in blockMain example: 30 St Mary Axe, LondonSecondary 1: Torre Agbar, BarcelonaSecondary 2: Seagram Building, New York City3 – Tower as blockMain example: Commerzbank Tower, FrankfurtSecondary 1: Transamerica Pyramid, San FranciscoSeconday 2: Hotel Ukraina, Moscow4 – Tower in blockMain example: Torre Velasca, MilanSecondary 1: Kudamm-Karree, BerlinSecondary 2: Norddeutsche Landesbank, Hanover5 – Twin towersMain example: Kungstornen, StockholmSecondary 1: Marina City Towers, ChicagoSecondary 2: Puerta de Europa, Madrid6 – Tower as team playerMain example: Tokyo Metropolitan Government BuildingSecondary 1: Thyssen-Haus, DüsseldorfSecondary 2: United Nations Headquarters, New York City7 – Tower on infrastructureMain example: The Standard Hotel, New York CitySecondary 1: Shard London Bridge, LondonSecondary 2: Tour Dexia (CBX), La Défense8 – Tower as module / business as usualMain example: Tour Ar Men, ParisSecondary 1: DUOC Corporate Building, Santiago de ChileSecondary 2: Banco Atlántico, Barcelona2nd Group: Clusters1 – Integrated in existing city fabricMain example: Rockefeller Center, New York CitySecondary 1: Villeurbanne Town Hall and new centreSecondary 2: Riverside Center, New York City2 – Towers as urban patternMain example: Quartier du Palais ('Immeubles Choux'), CréteilSecondary 1: Jianwai SOHO, BeijingSecondary 2: Stuyvesant Town, New York City3 – Linear clusterMain example: Sheikh Zayed Road, DubaiSecondary 1: Playa de Levante extension, BenidormSecondary 2: Rue de la Loi masterplan, Brussels4 – High-rise compoundMain example: Moma and Pop Moma, BeijingSecondary 1: Marina Baie des Anges, Villeneuve-LoubetSecondary 2: Icon Brickell, Miami5 – High-rise megastructureMain example: Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, TokyoSecondary 1: Parque Central, CaracasSecondary 2: Pinnacle@Duxton, Singapore6 – Towers in natureMain example: Hansaviertel, BerlinSecondary 1: Unité d’Habitation, MarseilleSecondary 2: Newton Suites, Singapore7 – Towers on podiumMain example: Front de Seine, ParisSecondary 1: Jumeirah Beach Residences, DubaiSecondary 2: Tour 9, Montreuil3rd Group: Vertical Cities1 – US-American downtown:Main example: Downtown Houston2 – High-rise as norm:Main example: Higienópolis, São Paulo3 – High-rise as geographical obligation:Main example: Monaco4 – City of monuments:Main example: Lujiazui, Shanghai5 – European CBD:Main example: La DéfenseSecondary: La Défense extension (Tour AIR2)6 – City of megastructures:Main example: Hong KongSection B: High-rise building regulations in seven cities worldwideLondonFrankfurtViennaParisNew YorkHong KongSingaporeSection C: High-rise and sustainabilityComparative tableBibliographyIndexPicture credits

"Informative and thought provoking both for practitioners and space syntax researchers". (JSS, December, 2011)