Why Europe Doesn't Build Skyscrapers | The B1M

[The Lawspeaker]

Why have many major European cities not embraced the skyscraper? We explain. For more by The B1M subscribe now: http://ow.ly/GxW7y Read the full story on this video, including images and useful links, here: https://www.theb1m.com/video/why-euro...

[MinervaItalica]

Europe architecture will be ruined.

Europe is fine how it is. Skyscrapers are cool but away from European historical centres.

Cities with many skyscrapers are densely more populated. Not the case of many European cities.

[Ayetooey]

This is not the case in London recently. First picture is 2013, second is 2018. Imagine it in 2025; there are over 500 proposed new skyscrapers. I appreciate old architecture and think it should be preserved when it can; but I do love skyscrapers and that "big city" feel, personally.

[dududud]

I don't like.

[Smeagol]

Skyscrapers are really ugly and ruin the character of historic cities. Same with modern architecture in general.

[♥ Lily ♥]

We have very strict rules in London about skyscrapers.

They mustn't exceed a certain height so not to interfere with smooth communications and low flying air traffic (we have the busiest airspace in the world,) nor must they obstruct the views (from the top and all side angles) of historic parks and important historic landmarks.

There were plans to build a very tall building recently in the London Borough of Southwark (pronounced as 'Suth-erk') - but a different London Borough - Westminter City Council - strongly opposed and objected against it, as it would've obstructed the views of beautiful St. Jame's Park (below) in the City of Westminster in Central London.




So the proposed skyscraper in the London Borough of Southwark is not allowed to be built.

Overly tall buidlings can look obnoxious and ugly (not so much at night, but definitely during the day.)

The Shard skyscraper was carefully designed in London by Italian architect Renzo Piano (who said he personally hates tall buildings.) The Shard was designed to look elegant.

It's made from mostly recycled materials and reflects light in different angles - so that it appears different during various times of the day, different weather, and seasons.

The super-fast lifts take people to the top floor viewing deck within seconds. The top is designed to open-up into the sky. I think it looks elegant and nice considering that it's a skyscraper.

I made this video tribute to Shard several years ago:



Some protests took place here against the Shard being built.

The English Heritage Foundation also opposes it.

Warnings have been given that no further skyscrapers should be built around the Shard - otherwise it will lose its uniqueness if a whole cluster of tall buildings are placed around it.

There's a danger that clusters of skyscrapers will just resemble another city. The Eiffel Tower in Paris (for example,) stands out due to its uniqueness, and for not having clusters of tall landmarks surrounding and engulfing it.

The angles of the Shard does not obstruct the views of historic landmarks.

Prince Charles (the future King) has called many modern buildings (especially skyscrapers) as 'monstrous' and has strongly urged for more classical design architecture to be built. He's been very vocal about his disdain for skyscrapers.

Skyscrapers are also a fire hazard as well as an eyesore to look at - although some of them look ok - I prefer the way they look at night.

'The Gherkin' in London isn't tall compared to US skyscrapers - but it has beauty and uniqueness. World-renowned English architect Norman Foster designed it (who is world-famous for his designs in both Europe and the US, and for designing the Millau Bridge in France (one of the world's tallest bridges that goes above the clouds in the sky,) the great ceiling inside the British Museum, Canary Wharf tube station, etc.)

The Gherkin (originally known as 'The Swiss Tower') is known as an 'intelligent building' because of its ability to cool and heat itself naturally.... designed by the one-and-only Norman Foster.



The Electric Razor skyscraper in London (London's medium sized skyscrapers are given popular nicknames owing to their shape,) is the world's first wind turbine skyscraper.

Some skyscrapers here had to be made several floors shorter than planned due to opposition from councils about the views of St. Paul's Cathedral being obstructed. I think the Cheesegrater was one of them.


The very long-awaited 'Helter Skelter' skyscraper (above and below) has a beautiful design and I think it looks elegant and unique - and not just another tall rectangular shaped buildng.... but we've yet to see that one go up. Planning permission was granted and the first floors of the building were built by construction workers many years ago, before building work was halted due a lack of funding from a private developing company.

The project was deserted and abandoned with just a stump of the first floors built.

A wealthy Arab property developer has now stepped-in and taken over the ownership and is willing to fund its construction - but he needs to get enough companies who are willing to rent the office floor space before it can be constructed... otherwise it will be a waste of money building it.



The 'London Eye' wheel is very tall.


The 'Walkie Talkie' skyscraper in London was designed by Rafael Viñoly Beceiro ( a Uruguayan architect.) It was initially a disaster as the inward curved glass (which was supposed to save energy) actually created a 'death ray' instead.

The Walkie Talkie (at 20 Fenchurch Street) received a lot of international media attention after the skyscraper caused cars to melt and nearby shops to burn.

This was not the first cock-up and bungled design job by the same architect;- but even architects make mistakes sometimes. We can only learn lessons not to repeat such design flaws.

People here dubbed it as 'the fryscraper!' You could literally fry an egg in the heat surrounding the building as the temperature it created was hotter than Death Valley.




The glass windows on the fry-scraper have since been adjusted to have emergency shutters over the windows: https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/52...h-Ray-Shutters



I don't like the general shape of the building, and I don't find it beautiful.

The 'Walkie Talkie' has beautiful 'sky gardens' though on the top floors. I very much like this part of the building on the upper floors.

The sky gardens helps people who are afraid of heights to feel more relaxed. Londoners have a well-known reputation for being 'obsessed' with sky gardens, which are popular on peoples rooftops here.

We already have the public Kensington Rooftop Gardens (owned by Sir Richard Branson) and other public sky gardens here. The Kensington Rooftop Gardens were originally the largest rooftop gardens in Europe, but are now the second largest after a larger rooftop design was created in Sweden.



We also have open-air ice-skating rinks in the winter around the skycrapers in Canary Wharf, another on the rooftop of the London Aquarium, another by the beautiful classical building of Somerset House, another by the London Eye, another outside the Natural History Museum, and another outdoor winter ice-skating rink in the Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park. We also have several rooftop cinemas and rooftop restaurants in London too... as people like to make the most of the open rooftop space.




Each year, many skyscrapers are carefully planned and proposed, but only a few designs are approved and granted with planning permission.

The tall and historic BT Tower in London used to have a revolving restaurant on the top rotating floor during the 1960's.

There's now plans for some more skyscrapers to go up near my local area around Merchant Square (one of the fastest growing places in London at the moment.) They already have rolling bridges, street fountains, gondola rides, opera singers along the canal, pavement lighting, sensor lighting, expensive modern luxury apartments, restaurants, and hotels, etc.... but luckily they've kept adjacent Little Venice untouched with its classical architecture.

I've received proposed planning design letters through the post about it. Local residents have a time limit to submit any objections about new proposed buildings to the local council. I don't have any objections.

It's not the amount of skyscrapers, nor the height, which is important;- but the sheer high quality of the building (must be energy efficient, etc,) along with the style, elegance, and beauty, which matters from an architectural viewpoint.

Personally I much prefer gothic, baroque, and classical architecture... especially when it comes to homes... although there are some beautiful modern architectural designs too (which are also environmentally friendly).... although a lot of modern buildings lack character and feeling. A lot of high rise flats have been built in soulless and ugly modern buildings due to overpopulation, mass immigration, and shortage of landspace.

Some skyscrapers can look nice in terms of modern 21st century office space... and they have that 'big city' feel about them.

A disadvantage of living in cities with lots of lighting is that it obstucts clear views of the sky at night. (I could see a lot more stars at night when I lived in the countryside as a child, but I rarely see stars at night in the sky over London.)

A UK survey several years ago found that people here like both classic and modern architecture - but generally people here prefer classic architecture when it comes to homes (as these buildings have more feeling and character.)

We have a diverse mixture of ancient Roman, Norman, Medieval, Tudor, Baroque, Classical, Gothic, Neo-Classical, Georgian, Edwardian, Victorian, and Modern architecture and bridges in London. (Examples below in London.)

A lot of the apartments in London are inside Victorian or Georgian houses, and the city still keeps its medieval street layout. I'm lucky enough to live inside an elegant Victorian house with a soft cream facade and my own large black wrought iron balcony, and only a 2 minute walk from my local canal (with a boat cafe, waterside restaurants, floating boat markets, lots of English mute swans, etc.)

We preserve a lot of green spaces here too. Also lots more trees have been planted in London. Richmond Deer Park in south London is 3 times the size of Central Park in NYC for example, plus we have lots of charming little squares, royal parks, Kew Gardens, Chelsea Physic Gardens, etc.



























Prince Charles said he's 'disgusted' and 'repulsed' by the amount of skyscrapers now in London and he strongly urges for more classical building designs to be created.

I put some pictures of London's skyline into the video below several years ago. (Background music is by The Prodigy from Braintree, Essex, England.)


Skyscrapers are supposed to represent power and money - which is why too many of them can look arrogant and obnoxious. London currently has 2 financial districts;- the historic City of London, and Canary Wharf in the Dockland Islands. The city has thrived as having the world's largest financial district and has been an important trading centre (via the River Thames) since ancient Roman times... long before the invention of skyscrapers.

Which goes to show that you don't need tall buildings to run successful businesses.

Hong Kong has 'a symphony of lights' (a light and music display) each evening over the skyscrapers there around Victoria Harbour.... but I think a lot of far-eastern cities look the same and are losing their originality and uniqueness.

Dubai has some monstrous skyscrapers which lacks character. It's an ostentatious display of wealth - but where are the cultural roots, character, and foundations of the city beyond all the modern lights and glitz? Where are the local antiques markets, old bookshops, museums, art galleries, winding cobbled streets and ancient buildings, etc? Where's the industrial base? They brag about having the tallest skysraper in the world - but it's certainly not the most beautiful.

[♥ Lily ♥]

The controversial 'Tulip' skyscraper has been granted with planning permission, but construction work on the proposed tower was blocked last month by one of the 2 London Mayors - Sadiq Khan, (who is also known for banning advertisements of junk food on all public transport in London, as well as banning adverts of females in bikinis on London public transport.)

I think the GLA (Greater London Assembly) approved the planning permission.

Historic England were amongst the English heritage protectionist groups that also strongly opposed the 'Tulip' skyscraper.

https://news.sky.com/story/tulip-sky...-khan-11764084



'London mayor Sadiq Khan has blocked plans for a new skyscraper dubbed The Tulip to be built in the city.

The proposals had originally been approved in April 2019, despite a backlash from groups such as Historic England.

But the build has been turned down by the mayor, who said it would not "constitute the high standard of design required for a tall building in this location".




The tower would have been the second tallest building in Western Europe after The Shard in London, standing at 305.3 metres high.

The Tulip's proposed "bud" was due to be 12 storeys including a viewing platform with rotating pods, a bar, and a restaurant.

It would have also featured classroom space "offering 40,000 free places per year for London's state schoolchildren", according to the project's website.

But Mr Khan said: "The proposal... would cause harm to the historic environment, the wider skyline and image of London, strategic views as well as the public space surrounding the site."



"The public benefits of the scheme are limited and would not outweigh this harm."

The Tulip Project team told Sky News, "[We] are disappointed by the Mayor of London's decision to direct refusal of planning permission, particularly as The Tulip will generate immediate and longer-term socio-economic benefits to London and the UK as a whole."

"We will now take time to consider potential next steps for The Tulip Project."

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...ing-permission

[♥ Lily ♥]

A picture video I made back in 2013 of the skyscrapers in Paris. (I used the music of Daft Punk in the picture presentation video... because they're a popular modern French duo who were formed in Paris.)



Like London, Paris still keeps it's original and historic buildings... and also enjoys open green spaces and public gardens, which offers some peace, picturesque tranquility, and calm serenity from the busy city life.






Standing 309.6 metres (1,016 ft) high, the Shard is the tallest building in the United Kingdom and it's also the tallest building in the European Union.




The Shard is an elegant pyramid shape, and the second tallest building in the UK is the skyscraper at 1 Canada Square in the financial district of Canary Wharf in south-east London's Dockland Islands. Driverless DLR sky trains have driven past the skyscrapers each day for several decades now.



The roof of the skyscraper at 1 Canada Square in LDN has a crystal pyramid shape to it, with a light on top of the pyramid (which flashes every few seconds... like a blinking eye... as you can see in the clip below.)



Cleopatra's Needle is by the River Thames and was purchased from Egypt.

London also has numerous green spaces, squares, royal parks, Hampstead Heath and the hills overlooking northern London, th 250 year old Kew Gardens (containing the world's largest collection of living plants from around the globe which is maintained by over 600 botanists,) the historic Chelsea Physic Gardens, Wetland Centre, Gardens, Rooftop Gardens, Camley Natural Gardens, Hampton Court Palace Gardens, 3 rainforests (one in Kew Gardens, one in the London Aquarium, and a living one inside the world-famous London Zoo.) Richmond Deer Park in South London is 3 times the size of Central Park in NYC.


















A gondola in my local area of Little Venice.

[♥ Lily ♥]

I think lots of skyscrapers and lots of tall concrete and glass buildings would spoil the natural skylines in cities such as Rome, Florence, Venice, Vienna, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussels, Prague, Dublin, Edinburgh, Oslo, Athens, etc. It would spoil the quality, mystique, character, elegance, and natural beauty of these cities.

I personally prefer seeing more classic architecture (especially castles and palaces) as it has more romance, charm, feeling, and character.... and I'd like to see the creation of more artistic fountains being designed and built, and lots of open green spaces.

It's difficult to match (let alone surpass) the level of beauty and character of classical architecture. A lot of skyscrapers are brutal, arrogant-looking, and devoid of feeling.

My mother has visited lots of places, palaces, castles, museums, galleries, restaurants, and ancient sites across Europe and Russia... and she often laments that previous civilisations were so gifted and skillful with creating astounding music, breathtaking art, incredible architecture, sculptures, fountains, tapestries, clothing, etc.... and today the quality of workmanship in a lot of modern architecture, modern music, modern so-called 'art', etc, is very low quality and rushed and terrible in comparison to classic works.

Barcelona.


Trevi Fountains, Rome.


Somerset House, London.


City of Bath (south-west England.) The entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with lots of Grade I and Grade II listed architecture, including Georgian houses and ancient Roman spas.




The presence of hills and natural scenery surrounding the English City of Bath is important for people... so they feel close to nature, and so that they're not living in a concrete urban jungle.


Florence ('The City of Art') Italy. Appreciate the colourful skies and naturally beautiful skyline showing the Tuscan hills in the backdrop of Firenze.


Belgium.


Belgium.


Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany. The skyline is very magical looking with the mountains and natural scenery in the backdrop.


Opera House ('Palais Garnier') Paris.


Paris.


Paris.


Venice.


Bridge of Sighs, Venezia.


Roma, Italia ('The Eternal City'.) The skyline looks beautiful left natural, so people can appreciate seeing the sunsets, sunrises, moon, planets, and stars.


Stockholm, Sweden.


Oslo, Norway.



Amsterdam, Netherlands.


Amsterdam, Netherlands.


Dublin, Éire.


Loire Valley, France. (Imagine how it would look with skyscrapers in the background... non, merci!)


Belgium.


Belgium.


Italy.


Italy.


Quinta da Regaleira Gardens and a Knights Templars and Masonic Initiation Well, Sintra, Portugal



Portugal.


Mont St. Michel, Normandy, France. (Imagine a load of skyscrapers in the backdrop... it would spoil the beauty of the natural skyline.)

[♥ Lily ♥]

If people want to see lots of extremely tall skyscrapers, then they have to go to the mega large cities in other continents - such as NYC, Sydney, Vancouver, Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Dubai, etc, (if you can withstand the 45C+ temperatures in Dubai.)

Twenty years ago this didn't exist in China... but the skylines in cities have changed a lot.... and they're already planning thousands more skyscrapers in Chinese cities in the next decade, (as their cities are overpopulated and more people are living in high-rise apartments and working in high-rise offices,) so skyscrapers are a practicality for them.

A must-see video. 0:45