# How well does your city's tallest building serve it's skyline?



## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

One of the most important parts of a skyline is not just the geographical features, height or individual collection of scrapers but also the tallest building in your city.

To my point of view, the tallest building should be one of the best looking skyscrapers in your city if not, the best. In simpler terms, it has to be an architectural landmark. It can be a disappointment if the tallest building in your city is unimpressive and can ruin a skyline. Another thing, the architecture of your city's tallest can blend well with other sksycrapers, that is if it's possible. If the city has an impressive skyline but the tallest building is ugly, it doesn't do much justice. Third is where the tallest is located whether they're in the middle or in the edge.

An example in which the tallest building serves well with it's skyline is Los Angeles. The US Bank Tower is one of the most impressive skyscrapers in Los Angeles and in the West Coast. The building itself is placed right in the middle of Downtown LA and gives definition to the city's skyline.










How about your city?


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*2 IFC* distorted Hong Kong's skyline from the Kowloon waterfront. Since it is so close to the water relative to the other skyscrapers, it looks especially tall since it is closer to the viewers.


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## spyguy (Apr 16, 2005)

Sears Tower dominates everything next to it, making 900+ ft buildings look very small.


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## Jules (Jun 27, 2004)

Yeah, I also think it helps balance everything out. You've got Aon and Big John up north, and Sears keeping everthing even down south.


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## Skybean (Jun 16, 2004)

FCP, minimal effect IMO. Just adds to the cluster. But too many talls clump together so from many angles you can only see the top of it.

CN Tower - totally serves well. Fully visible from afar and up close. Adds a pinnacle to make the skyline one of the world's most distinctive.


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## weill (Aug 9, 2005)

In smaller city terms, Roanokes tallest looks ok, though the top is ugly.


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## Manila-X (Jul 28, 2005)

About the 2-IFC, the location does make the rest of HK's skyscrapers look smaller kinda what the World Trade did for Lower Manhattan.

Also, it's according to what vantage point you shoot the skyline. 



















HK's skyline looks presentable from Kowloon with or without the 2-IFC

How about from The Peak?









without the 2-IFC









with the 2-IFC, but the vantage point isn't that impressive and The Exchange Square building blocks a big part of the 2-IFC.









also shot from The Peak but a better vantage point. The 2-IFC is clearly shown.

As for architecture, The 2-IFC works well. It may be simpler compared to The Bank Of China but still has a distintive design.

I would get really pissed off if the tallest building in HK looks like this!


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## I-275westcoastfl (Feb 15, 2005)

Its ok but could be better 








Skyline








New tallest u/c Very nice and unique could be taller though


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

The WTC did not distort the Lower Manhattan skyline. The buildings were all bunched together on level ground over a small area, while 2 IFC sticks out into the harbour. Hence the waterfront on the other side of the harbour would get a distorted view. New Yorkers viewing Lower Manhattan from either New Jersey, Brooklyn, or the harbour would not get a distorted view. The WTC's tallness is actually due to their heights, while 2 IFC is due to both tallness and geographic location.


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## SE9 (Apr 26, 2005)

*London*

The Canary Wharf Skyline was 'built around' 1 Canada Square, so it serves the skyline very well:











*Nairobi, Kenya*

Times Tower in Nairobi is a newer addition to the skyline. It is at the far east of the CBD, giving it a slightly unbalanced feel. If you stand to the west, though, the skyline looks nicely balanced.

Times Tower is the tall white building to the centre:


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## DARKNIGHT (Jun 26, 2005)

CN Tower definitely makes Toronto's skyline world class. It wouldn't be nearly appealing without it. If you were to take away the tallest buildings in other major cities, the skylines wouldn't suffer as much with New York, Chicago, Hong Kong, Shanghai. I'll agee with my fellow Torontonian and agree that the CN Tower serves the city very very well.


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## TalB (Jun 8, 2005)

If you look at the ESB from the Hudson River, it will make everything else look smaller, though that's not the case from the East River.


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

TalB said:


> If you look at the ESB from the Hudson River, it will make everything else look smaller, though that's not the case from the East River.


I thought the two views are similar though :

Hudson River










East River


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## ncik (Nov 12, 2004)

In Sydney, the tallest isn't a scraper but the Sydney Tower. It was supposed to be the yardstick of Sydney, therefore a height limit was enforced so that no scraper would surpass the height of the tower. Anyway in the 70s and 80s, the tower used to be very imposing. Now, it looks very stupid as few buildings look just a little shorter or maybe even taller in some perspective and angle.
from the East









From the North - no where to be found (only if you look close enough)









from the West









From the South


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## Gargarensis (Jan 4, 2003)

More from Sydney, Australia: 

Sydney Tower is great as the city's tallest building because its iconic and centrally-located. It is indeed a landmark tower, not just another office building that so happens to be the tallest in the city, and is well-identified by locals and tourists alike. It is centrally located, sitting above the world's 5th most expensive retail precinct (Pitt St Mall), with the city skyline extending 1 kilometre both to the north and south.

Like a torch held up high over the city









A couple views from the east

























A view from the north, the tower turret sits like a golden crown above the city









A view from the west. the gold tower turret is pretty distinct









Overlooking sydney's hyde park









a view from the west on a very bleak day


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## wjfox (Nov 1, 2002)

I like 1 Canada Square, but it could do with being taller. Unfortunately, there are height limits at Canary Wharf.


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## XCRunner (Nov 19, 2005)

Sears Tower compliments Chicago's skyline in an excellent way, but it does not work alone. It works perfectly with JHC and Aon as one of the three anchors of the skyline, with the smaller buildings filling in nicely in between the Big 3.

And if you want to see a city where the tallest compliments the rest of the skyline absolutely perfectly, just go to Philly. It couldn't be better.


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## broadie (Jan 21, 2006)

The q1 tower on the gold coast that is 322.5m is the tallest by far 
at the moment it makes every thingelse look like a lowrise


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## Boris550 (Sep 21, 2004)

Petro Canada Centre adds some mass to Calgary's skyline and extends it east to Centre Street. When EnCana builds their new tower, it should dominate the skyline unlike anything Calgary's seen since the Calgary tower was completed in 1968.


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## FREKI (Sep 27, 2005)

The tallest in Copenhagen is Herlev Hospital  ( 120m ) located in the suburbs..










It's ugly and dull and if anything has given renewed energy to the damn NINBYs :sleepy:

In the downtown area it's a little better, but still not worth mentioning here...


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