June is National Skyscraper month, a month is which us city dwellers are encouraged to stop bemoaning lack of green space and overabundance of concrete, chrome and glass and instead enjoy the fine architecture of our urban environment. Sure, it’s a gimmick month, probably made up by the real estate lobby or the architecture lobby or the urban dwellers lobby (I’m sure Hallmark had a hand in it, too), but that doesn’t mean you can’t participate, especially when all you have to do to celebrate in Houston is look up.
Skeptics say if you’ve seen one big city, you’ve seen them all, but Art Attack dug up some distinct architectural designs that aren’t like anything else in the world.
10. Burj Khalifa, Dubai
9. Elephant Tower, Bangkok
8. 30 St. Mary Axe, “The Gherkin,” London
7. CCTV Headquarters, Beijing
6. Turning Torso, Malmo
5. HSBC Building, Hong Kong
4. Taipei 101, Taipei
3. Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur
2. Burj al Arab, Dubai
1. Tuntex 85 Sky Tower
This article appears in Jun 16-22, 2011.