The Impact of Tall Buildings within the Existing and Historical Urban Environment

Abstract

The rapid growth of the world increased the demand of the tall buildings as a result of physical, social and economic needs. Tall Buildings with their great size and large impact on the existing urban environment and especially on the historical one became like a double-edged sword. They may be an active city element and become a landmark that has its own value, preserve and respect the built surrounding, or it will be a portion that disfigure the urban skyline of the city and become a visual deformation within its space. The most important point that should be considered while designing a tall building is the harmony between it and its built surrounding. Design considerations regarding physical integration of the tall building with the context around it must be handled with more care than any other conventional building. In order to minimize the damage on the historical urban heritage and the existing built environment maximizing the useful landscape provided by its footprint on the site should be aimed. This paper aims to evaluate the impacts regarding the integration of tall buildings within the existing and historical urban environment. A holistic approach clarifying this integration as a way of designing an efficient urban element also aimed to be discussed in this paper.