Vertical City

In 1991, One Canada Square, the UK's tallest skyscraper, changed the London skyline. But the Cesar Pelli designed icon wasn't in the heart of the capital. Instead, the developers had taken a billion dollar gamble on creating an…

Skyscrapers have transformed cities across the globe - most notably the famous skyline of Manhattan. But on 9/11, this historic cityscape became forever linked with one event that forced architects to rethink. Designed by skyscraper guru…

Hong Kong's Bank of China building was designed by award-winning architect IM Pei and houses the Bank of China Headquarters. The huge financial institution was formerly based in a 'modest' 17-storey stone edifice elsewhere in Hong Kong,…

Every major city has a symbolic piece of architecture that projects its image to the world. But what happens when a city loses its trademark icon? This was exactly the problem that faced Malmo in Sweden - but it came up with the perfect…

The iconic 375 Park Avenue in New York, built in 1958 by the king of Modernist design, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, changed skyscraper design forever. As the world's most influential and copied tower, it has inspired the square glass blocks…

As the tallest residential skyscraper in the UK, Manchester's distinctive Beetham Tower is turning heads and dividing opinion. Heading up a new generation of skyscrapers that are regenerating Britain's post-industrial cities, Beetham is…

Still the tallest tower in the US – as well as the tallest building in the world for 25 years – the $175million Sears Tower broke boundaries in not only height but design and construction when it was completed in 1973. But building the…

Charlie Luxton travels to Commerzbank, Frankfurt to explore the world's first eco-friendly skyscraper, designed by British architect Norman Foster.

Vertical City goes up top Down Under to the tallest residential building in the world – the 300m Eureka Tower, the most exclusive address in the Southern Hemisphere. But is living the high life destroying our traditional city communities?…

The strongest building on Earth, Torre Mayor is constructed to withstand earthquakes that would obliterate the average skyscraper. Built in the wake of Mexico City’s most devastating earthquake in 1985, this monument to engineering has…

Surfer's Paradise has come a long way from a small town with great waves perched on the south-east coast of Australia. Surfer's has a growing reputation as the resort of choice for the rich and famous, and the skyline is growing too with…

You’re a new developer, you want to build a tower in a bleak part of town and you’ve got to fill half the building before you get planning permission. What do you do? Get in a Superstar Architect to ensure your skyscraper gets noticed and…

Even before the modern skyscraper, the super tall building has been a source of innovation and fierce competition – and no time was the fight for height fiercer than in the late 18th century when cathedrals across Europe competed to make…

In 2003, Moscow's Triumph Palace became Europe's tallest building. In the 1940s Josef Stalin commissioned a series of seven tall towers that would compete with the skyscrapers of New York. Known as the Seven Sisters. Matt Berman…

Moscow has become Europe’s skyscraper capital, with the Naberezhnaya Tower holding the title of the continent’s tallest building. It represents a new era for the city, one in which Moscow can finally compete with the other major financial…

The John Hancock Center in Chicago is one of the most influential skyscrapers of the twentieth century. When completed in 1969 this was the tallest tower in the world outside New York City and is still the most famous structural…

1180 Peachtree is a striking icon on the Atlanta skyline, its huge fins making it distinct from other skyscrapers in the city. But it’s not all about good looks - 1180 is creating a new era for the city’s towers. Presented by Matt Berman.

Taiwan, China’s renegade province, wanted to make the world sit up and notice it – so it built the planet’s tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101, in its capital city. An architectural meeting of East meets West, Taiwan’s biggest global…

With the highest roof on earth, the sleek Shanghai World Finance Center stands in the city that has overtaken New York and Chicago as skyscraper capital of the world. Setting the standard for a new generation of supertall skyscrapers,…

In the late 1980s the Malaysian government decided to build a skyscraper so unprecedented in size and so ambitious that it sought to overtake Chicago’s Sears Tower as the tallest building in the world. The result – the elaborately curved…

Behind the glistening façade of Boston’s John Hancock Tower lies one of the most embarrassing moments in architectural history. The insurance company wanted to express their corporate might by building a modernist skyscraper in the heart…

Stunning skylines are fuelled by money – and Hong Kong has one of the most stunning in the world. With a lack of land on the island, the only way is up. The most prized – and expensive - plot is the financial district of Central where one…