Although fundamental factors of program, technology, and economics maketall buildings everywhere take similar forms, skyscrapers in New York andChicago developed very differently in the first half of the twentiethcentury. In contrast to standard histories that counterpose the designphilosophies of the Chicago and New York "schools," Willis shows howmarket formulas produced characteristic forms in each city - "vernacularsof capitalism" - that resulted from local land-use patterns, municipalcodes, and zoning. Refuting some ...
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Although fundamental factors of program, technology, and economics maketall buildings everywhere take similar forms, skyscrapers in New York andChicago developed very differently in the first half of the twentiethcentury. In contrast to standard histories that counterpose the designphilosophies of the Chicago and New York "schools," Willis shows howmarket formulas produced characteristic forms in each city - "vernacularsof capitalism" - that resulted from local land-use patterns, municipalcodes, and zoning. Refuting some common cliches of skyscraperhistory such as the equation of big buildings with big business and theidea of a "corporate skyline," Willis emphasizes the importance ofspeculative development and the impact of real-estate cycles on the formsof buildings and on their spatial distribution. Form Follows Finance cautions that the city must be understood as acomplex commercial environment where buildings are themselves businesses, space is a commodity, and location and image have value.
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