In this lecture, Leon Krier discusses contemporary urban planning as being fundamentally flawed, attempting to shift too far from 'historical norms' that have traditionally defined Western Culture. His worry is that society is becoming more concerned with profit making development schemes, rather than attempts to create successful urban environments. Primarily, Krier rails against Modernist ideals, and calls for a reintegration of historic city planning methodology into everyday life. His lecture utilizes personal sketches, diagrams, case studies, and GORGEOUS RENDERINGS to showcase his design ideals, teachings, and intentions.
For anyone that can find Leon Krier’s 2011 lecture online, these two listing below are the closest I have come to finding his amazing discussion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq6HIxsJRis
http://www.modeldmedia.com/features/leonkrier911.aspx
However, after the lecture I had a chance to conduct a brief interview with Mr. Krier, getting his thoughts and conclusions about the skyscraper typology were stated as the following. The following bullet points were a summary of his thoughts and considerations, after his almost 40 year career (my thoughts are in blue):
- Skyscrapers do not fit in a human scale, easily accessible pedestrian realm, and will therefore unlikely fit in a the future of human intervention
- Skyscrapers are a direct result of cheap oil ; Skyscrapers emerged from a industry dominated by steam-power and cheap labor, and do not necessarily need oil-based products to survive (windows were integral in the typology prior to sealants, plastic glazing, ect)
- Skyscrapers do not fit well into the urban fabric; no historical data suggests the typology will survive after peak oil (New York City and Chicago skyscrapers both emerged before personal parking, electricity demands, or HVAC became a functional component to the typology; tall towers and other structures are in every age of historical city growth, such as the Towers of Babble, Florence, Bologna, ect.)
- We cannot built a whole city of skyscrapers; if you're going to build them well, build them to last, build for TIME, build them to utilize a multitude of uses
- In the future, skyscrapers will likely remain as sole monuments, surrounded by dense urban environments.
Overall, it is too bad that a transcript or copy of this lecture is not more widely available: it would be of great use, for anyone hoping to understanding the wider world of skyscraper urbanism!
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