10 Skylines of the World: Then vs. Now.

A skyline is the horizon that a city’s overall structure, human intervention in a non-urban setting, or nature, creates. Or in easier words, skyline marks an outline of land and buildings defined against the sky. City skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint as no two skylines are alike. The speed and magnitude of a change in the skyline is representative of how rapid a city has changed through a a century or more.

Recently, I came across an article entitled ’20 Skylines Of The World: Then Vs Now’ by Nadia Anuar (original source: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/world-skylines-then-now/) which is very much similar to my post’s title here but with the numbers reduced to 10 instead of 20. Why? I cancelled out the other 10 cities of which the change in their skyline are not that massive and interesting. Here are the top 10 skylines in comparison of their past and the present looks with some stunning images of these cities: (Please be reminded that this is not the ranking for the best skylines but is just to show comparison of the skylines of these 10 cities that may take your breath away).

This list also depends on availability of old pictures of the cities.

New York City, United States (Year 1876 vs. 1932 vs. 1988 vs. 2013)

New York City, despite being known as an old city with many traditional-looking skyscrapers, still looks great with addition of more modern buildings in present days. The tragic 911 event had drastically changed the skyline of the city, but now the city welcomes the recently completed One World Trade Center as the city’s new tallest.

Shanghai, China (Year 1990s vs. 2010s)

Many massive cities in China are growing at a rate no one can ever imagine. Shanghai is one of them. Pictures above shows the flat (trees-filled) land of the Pudong area by the river which is now transformed dramatically into a cluster of awesome skyscrapers. Not seen in the picture above is the nearly completed Shanghai Tower, the city’s new tallest.

Hong Kong, China (Year 1920s vs. 2000s)

Hong Kong is always ranked the first in the best skylines ranking in the world by many polls. I agree with that. And the changes as seen in the pictures above tell it all. The buildings are beautiful, the lighting are beautiful…what else can I say?

Doha, Qatar (Year 1977 vs. 2010s)

An Arab city not as popular as Dubai (seen below) but still manages to inspire us with the drastic changes on its cityscape. Many tall buildings are rising very quickly in Doha.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Year 1990s vs. 2010s)

Dubai is home of the current tallest man-made structure on Earth, Burj Khalifa (not seen in the pictures above…too bad). Without that, the city still looks seriously amazing with its transformation in a lightning speed. It’s a city with hundreds of buildings rising from a desert out of nowhere and you couldn’t be more awed than this.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Year 1990s vs 2010s)

I’m glad that my city, KL is in this list. My city has wonderful transformation in its city skyline too, mostly thanks to the iconic Petronas Twin Towers (world’s tallest twin buildings) and the KL Tower. Too bad, the image of the city (representing 2010s) is not the most recent one. It’s more dense with many new buildings on the right side of the picture actually.

Toronto, Canada (Year 1930s vs. 2010s)

Simply beautiful with those lights reflected onto the water and also the iconic CN Tower.

Tokyo, Japan (Year 1945 vs. 2011)

Seriously a very dense city right now.

Panama City, Panama (Year 1930s vs. 2010s)

The development of the city skyline is looking good.

Fortaleza, Brazil (Year 1970s vs. 2011)

I have never heard of this city before but right after looking at the pictures above, the changes in the skyline are very obvious.

How I hope I can have more amazing cities included in this list for the comparison like Chicago (US), Guangzhou (China), Shenzhen (China), Seoul (South Korea), etc. Some cities from the original source are not included here because I find the pictures are not good enough to present the changes in skylines over time.

(Images in this post are from various sources throughout the world wide web)

 

Insight: Bukit Bintang, the Golden Triangle of KL

Malaysians would definitely knew the place, in the city of Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Even the foreign visitors would not miss their opportunity to visit the place of shopping paradise; Bukit Bintang. It is a shopping and entertainment district in the heart of KL famous for its’ retail belt all over the place along with cafes, bars, night markets, hawker-type eateries, clubs, hotels and highrises. Bukit Bintang is the most happening and mostly-visited area in Kuala Lumpur, giving it a nickname of being the Golden Triangle of the city.

Many locals especially youths would definitely pay a visit to this area commonly, especially in the weekend, that would cause serious congestion in traffic and huge crowd of people. Not only shopping malls here are crowded with people, even the outdoor streets and walkways are flooded with locals and foreigners. The MRT that surrounds the area further facilitate transportation while enabling sightseeing over the heart of KL. The bad thing around here is the road system, which is so ineffective that it can cause serious traffic congestion easily.

There are already around 10 shopping malls, just in the area itself, without counting the many others in the other part of the city. The malls are Sungei Wang Plaza (distinctive by its small shops, narrow walkway, low-ceiling, and many events organized here), BB Plaza (right besides Sungei Wang), Low Yat Plaza (IT Sales Center of KL), Lot 10 (popular by its bright green facade), Berjaya Plaza, Imbi Plaza, Starhill Gallery (concept of 7 unique floors), Fahrenheit 88 (new one replacing KL Plaza), Berjaya Times Square (largest mall in Malaysia), and Pavilion KL (a high-class contemporary mall).

I think I don’t have to describe all about the 10 malls in the area. All malls are different and are with their own style, character and brands. The number of the malls available itself is already a statistic that proved the highlight of the area which is on shopping, very much suitable for the youths especially girls! Special grand events or celebration like new year countdown or independence celebration would also be held around the area where people would gather for concerts, parties, fun activities, etc…further excited by the fireworks display over the sky of Bukit Bintang. By the time, roads would be closed and the fun begins which you would be cramped in crowd of countless people.

Not to forget, there is this indoor theme park which is the largest of its kind in Asia, Cosmo World in Berjaya Times Square, current 10th world largest shopping mall, easily identified by its twin towers of hotel, office and serviced apartments dominating the skyline of Bukit Bintang at height of over 200m (current top 10 tallest buildings in Malaysia). The mall also contains the largest IMAX theatre by GSC cinema in South East Asia. Here, you can eat, work, play and have fun to the fullest.

Back to the architecture of the area, let’s narrow it down to malls first. Some malls are built in 1990s, a time when modern architecture of mainly concrete dominated KL. These designs are considered beautiful at the time, but not at this period of time when glass is more popularly used as the main material. In Bukit Bintang, I like the design of Pavilion KL especially it’s main atrium topped by a skylight and distinctive by the arrangement of escalators and it’s recessed-down level from the main entrance. The design definitely reflects the high-class representation of the mall which mainly contains shops of famous and expensive brands like GUCCI, PRADA, LV, etc. I find the open-air courtyard in the mall quite interesting too, which facilitates natural ventilation.

Many other malls are also being renovated to be with the latest trend of shopping malls like Fahrenheit 88 which replaced the old infamous KL Plaza. The renovated mall looks much better eventhough it’s a small building, but the intention is there. Public walkways around these malls and streets are also transformed into a better path with modern paving, decorations, lightings, kiosks, sculptures and huge screens for advertisement. That is a good idea of even making the streets and walkways special and outstanding than the others outside the Bukit Bintang area. Some old buildings like shophouses still remain there, but mainly are transformed into specially-designed cafes, pubs and hotels while still maintaining their effort of conserving and preserving these buildings.

Anyway, now I find that Bukit Bintang is not at its best yet, as it still does not has its own identity or character that can make it more outstanding than others like Times Square in New York, Orchad Road in Singapore, etc. Actually, I have no idea where is the boundary of the Bukit Bintang area, but I’m just sure that there is no boundary or limit of nightlife or shopping moments there. Eventhough I live in Greater KL, but I seldom go to Bukit Bintang due to the serious traffic congestion which I hate the most. For locals whom had not been there before, you should try and go pay a visit. You would have endless fun, and a full day is absolutely not enough for you. For foreigners, do not miss the chance of visiting this area, quite close to other prominent tourists’ spots in KL like Petaling Street and KLCC if you have the desire for ‘shop till you drop’. The picture below shows Bukit Bintang’s skyline which is at the center between KL Tower and the iconic Petronas Twin Towers. (The picture is not the latest and so Pavilion KL’s highrises are not seen here yet)

(All the pictures here are obtained from searching through internet and are not mine)

Architectural Revolution…

The field of architecture has been developing in a certain manner over period of times. What I know is that as soon as people develop, the world develops and the field of architecture develops as well too…

Honestly, there is no such thing as architect thousand years back, this field has not been introduced yet even after the construction of settlements and buildings.

Few thousand years ago, people gathered and form civilizations, those famous like in Egypt, China, etc…they created settlements, and it is the job of the head of villager or settlements to plan the area. Design? No…whatever…this is their response. Design is no important by that time…

Civilizations developed too, they build large and magnificent structures, particularly temples, sacred places, tombs, palaces, etc…Even the construction of these structures are supervised by intellectual people, those knowledgable, like philosopher, priest, warrior, and engineer..Do you know that the profession of engineer came earlier to this world than architect?

Those famous structures are like:

Great Pyramid of Giza (over 5000 years ago) – former world tallest structure.

Parthenon (over 2000 years ago)

Great Wall of China (over 2000 years ago) – world greatest construction.

Tomb of First Emperor (not excavated yet) and Terracotta Warriors (over 2000 years ago)

Colosseum (over 1900 years ago)

Time develops…more and more new materials are produced, more and more new constructing systems are found, more and more people are equipped with knowledge, settlements became giant urban areas, became an area with city , city center, commercial area, trading and port area, etc…Of course, no highrise will be seen yet…however, the profession of architect started to be introduced…

Famous structures are like:

Hagia Sophia (over 1400 years ago)

Borobudur (over 1100 years ago)

Angkor Wat (over 700 years ago) – world largest temple.

Forbidden City (over 600 years ago) – world largest palace.

Taj Mahal (over 300 years ago)

Industrial Revolution arrived…more and more commercial structures are erected…new technology invented day by day, the revolution began fromn Europe and spread to the whole world…

Crystal Palace (over 150 years ago) – destroyed by fire.

Eiffel Tower (over 110 years) – former world tallest structure.

After that, era of skyscrapers began…people started to build highrises, meeting the demand for more working space on a small area in dense city like Chicago and New York City. Taller and taller, reaching for the sky, and so the term of skyscraper is created. Technology did not limit the height of structures.

Chryler Building – former world tallest building, first structure exceeds 300m height.

Empire State Building – former world tallest building for over 40 years, 381m.

Sears Tower – former world tallest building, 442m.

Now comes the era of modernization, which I think began around twenty years back…everything starts to get modern, striking look, and globalized outcome.

Petronas Twin Towers – world tallest twin buildings, 452m height.

Taipei 101 – current world tallest completed building, 509m height.

And now as well as the upcoming near future, maybe between now till 2030, those impossible designs will come to reality, drawings will come to built forms. There will be no more limit to world of architecture that beautifies the world…

Beijing National Stadium – ‘Bird Nest’ Stadium

Burj Dubai – world tallest man made structure, 818m height.

Palm Islands, World Islands,Universe Islands – world largest group of man-made islands.

Hydropolis – world first underwater luxury hotel, planned.

And many more, especially at Dubai, Shanghai, etc…