WHY HUMANS BUILD UP

An atypically ruminative survey of tall buildings and structures worldwide.

“There are some good reasons for building up, and a few bad ones as well.” Going for a thematic rather than chronological approach, Craigie groups his several dozen examples by common needs or qualities—beginning with “Security” (the tower of Jericho, the lighthouse at Alexandria, and castles from Edinburgh to Osaka) and going on to celebrate architectural expressions of “Beauty,” “Utility,” and even “Spirituality” as well as “Rivalry” and conspicuous “Luxury.” Along with mixing customary monuments, from the Great Pyramid of Giza to the Burj Khalifa, with distinctive but potentially less familiar constructions like the Tokyo Skytree and Djamaâ El Djazaïr in Algiers, the world’s tallest minaret (not to mention some humongous smokestacks and no fewer than three leaning towers in Italy), he tucks in topic-expanding sidebars on, for instance, totem poles, women architects such as South Africa’s Malika Walele, and ways in which those from marginalized groups are impacted by safety issues in public housing. Following a final roundup of environmentally sustainable towers that includes a profile of Harare’s Eastgate Centre, which is modeled after African termite mounds and, he notes, “uses only 10 percent of the electricity of a similar building with air-conditioning,” he closes with select but appropriate resources for budding tourists or architects. Fu’s finely detailed inside and outside views greatly enhance the generous suite of grand, sharply reproduced color photos.

Broad in scope, perceptively organized, and enriched with fascinating entries.