Landscrapers

For a century now, in the wake of Chicago and Manhattan’s rise, cities have been worshipping the skyscraper. It became a symbol of modernity and wealth, with many countries competing to construct the tallest shopping malls, the highest apartment towers and the shiniest office blocks. But skyscrapers are not human scale. Like cathedrals before them, high-rise buildings are designed to impress and intimidate, rather than to be to nurture and welcome. Perhaps it is time to embrace what British urban designer Thomas Heatherwick calls landscrapers, like the low-rise Google UK campus he is building with a 300-metre rooftop park.

— Wayne Visser

From Purpose Inspired: Reflections on Conscious Living, Volume 5. Buy on Lulu ↗