New Directions in Architecture

Archive Report

Changing Profile of World's Big Cities

Social Controversies Over High-Rise Trends

Around the world the new architecture, which is transforming the skyline of every major city, is causing an unprecedented degree of social, aesthetic and even political controversy. In Paris, the chestnut trees cannot mask the dark 577-foot monolith that now looms behind the Arch of Triumph In London, office buildings such as the new Stock Exchange and the 599-foot Westminster Bank tower resemble giant weeds sprouting on what used to be a well-kept urban turf. And in New York, the World Trade Center's twin towers rise to 1,353 feet to dominate the lower Manhattan skyline.

Minoru Yamasaki, architect of the Trade Center, where ultimately 50,000 persons will work, claims that he was searching for a quality ...

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