taller and better?

i, for one, don't understand the need to go ever higher with skyscrapers. well i do know that they lend a sense of pride to the people behind it but who in their right mind wants to leave so high that they fear a lost pilot ramming into them? that is not considering the potential for natural disasters as well as running down more than 100 floors in an emergency.



then i came across the below article and couldn't help but laugh at the suggestion that a taller building is an existential statement and that without it no city is complete. tall is fine and good but tallest will always be fleeting.



The Seoul Times

experts say the drive to go tall also reflects the aspiration of Asian and Gulf nations to join the ranks of the developed world, and to assert that their long-awaited moment in history has finally come

what's worse is that many cities that have gone all out asserting their dominance have usually not lasted long after it. (with 'long' being very subjective)