2 On 18 August 2017 the Urban Taskforce ran a half day conference titled the SYDNEY SKYSCRAPER SUMMIT. This was a warm up event for the international conference to be held at the end of October 2017 by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). This Urban Ideas is an overview of the summit and the stimulating presentations on skyscrapers from around the world. With a dozen experts speaking on their own projects or on their perspective on trends in skyscraper design the audience of 300 people was exposed to a smorgasbord of high rise concepts and the rationale behind their designs. SKYSCRAPERS AS A METAPHOR FOR HEIGHT The Urban Taskforce has for some time championed the importance of height as being part of the next generation of how Australian cities must accommodate population growth. With Sydney planned to grow from its existing 5 million population to 8 million in the next 40 years it is clear that the low rise horizontally spreading suburban form will need to be rethought. There is now a clear swing in Sydney to apartment living with around 30% of dwellings now being apartments. On top of this around 70% of planning approvals each year are now for apartments. A new urban living model with greater density and a focus on walkable communities is growing particularly around railway stations. The NSW Government is helping this trend by planning and building a network of metro rail systems across Sydney and other Australian cities are also following this trend. Most planners have now agreed that taller buildings need to be clustered around these new metro stations and that most of these towers will be apartment buildings. COMPUTER DESIGN HAS ENABLED NEW ORGANIC FORMS FOR SKYSCRAPERS The incredible advances in the use of computers in architecture has led to a new breed of curving organic forms that have given tall skyscrapers an iconic presence. An early influence on this trend was the work of Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi who spent some time in New York in 1913 where he became fascinated with that cities skyscrapers. Brancusi’s most famous sculpture was “Bird in Space” an elegant flowing piece of marble that evoked the concept of flight. Interestingly in Sydney when the proposed controversial Barangaroo hotel was moved from a water to a land site former Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating, called for the building to be like a Brancusi sculpture. Keating referred particularly to the two Brancusi “Bird in Space” sculptures in the National Gallery of Australia. The final result of the Crown Resort tower at Barangaroo certainly pays respects to Brancusi’s elegant bird sculptures. Skyscrapers are a metaphor for the importance of height in cities The Urban Taskforce is keen to have responses to the proposals illustrated in this issue of URBAN IDEAS and we welcome comments to admin@urbantaskforce.com.au Chris Johnson AM Chief Executive Officer Urban Taskforce Australia Credits Cover image: Star Casino Tower, Sydney Brancusi's Sculpture