Monumentality, Skyscrapers, and Being human

The public has reacted to the monumental skyscrapers of today in an ambiguous fashion; unlike during the twentieth century when citizens expressed anxiety about the large-scale buildings, this attitude has changed. It has turned into a fascination (conscious or unconscious) with the monumental new structures and urban landscapes they produce. The tall buildings became special objects to be viewed and places from where the views can potentially be taken. This chapter looks behind this phenomenon addressing the nature of the perception and the experience of monumental buildings through historical and theoretical narratives and visual representations. The emergence of recent tall edifices has been propelled by neo-liberal global capitalism and widespread consumers’ scopophilia. Has there been something archetypal in human nature that was attracted to this phenomenon? By examining the background of this subject, the tradition of ascent and the drama of viewing from above, the chapter sheds new light on the precarious nature of this kind of monumentality today.