10/10/08

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Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
Brown University
Box 1837 / 60 George Street
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: (401) 863-3188
Fax: (401) 863-9423
[email protected]

What does it mean to "scrape the sky"?

I was dissatisfied with Johnson's (non-)conclusions about castles, and was also struck by how interesting it would be to do a similar analysis of skyscrapers. Castles and skyscrapers seem to be similar building types, in that neither a clear and accepted definition. Both defy simple conclusions about their purpose and place in the human/things environment. It's my instinct that skyscrapers have traditionally been understood as competitive wonders - i.e. which city/country/firm can build the tallest skyscrapers. There's certainly truth to that interpretation, but I think there are so many other ways into them. I plan to explore (at least) the following:

- Skyscraper as national symbol. (i.e. Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower)

- Skyscraper as corporate symbol.

- Skyscraper as a means to showcase technological innovation and industrial prowess. (Beginning with the Tower of Babel!)

- Skyscraper integrated with city planning. (Skyscrapers capitalize on a small area of land by going vertical and stacking things.)

- Skyscraper as mini-city. (What are the social implications of having all needs served within one building?)

- Skyscraper as urban theater. (night illumination of skyscrapers.)

- Skyscraper ecology (construction/noise/light pollution + new efforts at sustainability.)

- Skyscraper failures (i.e. the John Hancock Tower in Boston, which was originally constructed with a bad foundation, windows, and inadequate wind compensation)

- Skyscraper demolition, both planned and unplanned (i.e. the destruction of the World Trade Center)

- Skyscraper awe: Why are urban tourists always walking around with their faces to the sky?

Ultimately, I will choose the angles which seem most fruitful and tell the most interesting stories about human/skyscraper interaction. I also plan to get in some first-hand experience with skyscrapers in Providence and Boston. The resources which I have already found or am planning to use can be found on Deconstructing the Skyscraper: Resources.

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