The Modern Skyscraper in a European Context

It is generally thought that the skyscraper is an American invention, which is true when considering that the first steel tall buildings started to arise in the American cityscape during the second half of the 19th century. This building type developed itself into giant skyscrapers such as the Sears (currently: Willis) Tower in Chicago and the former World Trade Center buildings in New York City, embodying not only the city, or the men who create them, but also the American culture as a whole.

European Context
Yet towers are not alien to the European urban landscape by nature. The historic European cityscape is full of tall structures, mainly church towers, which dominate local skylines. Some European cityscapes still show existing towers expressing the wealth of families, most notably in the Tuscan city of San Gimignano. Possibly the first tall building in Europe is the Mathematische Turm in Kremsmünster, Austria.

The Kremsmünster monastery was one of first places to allow scientific research as a major activity within its walls during the Age of Enlightenment, and as a result, the local Benedictine monastery built an observatory called the Mathematische Turm during 1749 and 1758. Since astronomy was the main objective of the new building, architect Anselm Desing designed a 49-meter (161-feet) tall tower, which benefited greatly from having the observatory located at the top.

In addition, the tower also served as the needle of a giant sun-clock laid out in the monastery’s gardens. Nowadays, there are a number of technical and social motives which drives the erection of tall buildings: as an engineering challenge, a way to cope with urban density, as an expression of power, as a mass housing solution, as corporate or personal identity or as an iconic address. Each of these comes with their own shapes, sizes and locations of tall buildings in the city.

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Text by Jan Klerks