Background

The high-rise is recognized worldwide as a symbol of ‘progress’ and ‘technological’ power, an ‘urban monument’ capable of turning the spotlight on itself, bearing praise and criticism to the entrepreneur, the architect and engineer, and often to authorities as well. The high-rise – commonly and often indiscriminately referred to as the tower or skyscraper – is by now, a global phenomenon.

We see it everywhere in the world, from East to West from the Global North to Global South, from its cities of origin in the New World such as New York and Chicago, to the historical cities of the Old World like Paris, London, Berlin and even Rome, and in Chinese metropolises like Beijing and Shanghai. But we also see it in small, developing, and often perceived as ‘peripheral’ countries like Albania, whose capital Tirana has unapologetically risen to the thirtieth floor in the last two decades…