Planning guidelines for enhancing placemaking with tall buildings

Abstract

This paper provides a summary of a recent book by the author on urban design guidelines for integrating tall buildings in urban environments. The paper discusses the placemaking problems created by tall buildings, and simultaneously attempts to harness the potential of tall buildings to enhance placemaking. The research contends that instead of contributing to the problem of placelessness, well-designed tall buildings can rejuvenate cities, ignite economic activity, support social life and boost city pride through the science, engineering and craftsmanship embodied in these buildings. Although this study does not claim to possess all the solutions to these matters, it does propose 10 design and planning guidelines that can help to promote placemaking through tall buildings.