Archive

The posts on this blog fall into a few different categories. First, there's the core verticality narrative, which is outlined in more detail here. Second, there are short write-ups of interesting examples of verticality from around the world and throughout history. These focus on subjects such as architecture, flight, mountains and literature. Third, there are personal anecdotes from my own experiences that relate to verticality. Fourth, there are mid-length musings that explore a image or theme. Fifth, there are quick snippets that explore an image or idea.

Verticality Narrative

The main articles that compose the core theory of verticality
Verticality Introduction
Verticality, Part I: The Context
Verticality, Part II: The Seeds of Verticality
Verticality, Part III: Inception
Verticality, Part IV: Beating the System
Verticality, Part V: Global Threads
Verticality, Part VI: Archetypes
Verticality, Part VII: Heavens on Earth
Verticality, Part VIII: God versus Ego
Verticality, Part IX: Man Upends God
Verticality, Part X: Conquering the Skies
Verticality, Part XI: Breaking the Box
Verticality, Part XII: A Never-ending Struggle

Architecture

Oddities and curious examples of verticality in architecture throughout time
Alberto de Palacio’s Monument to Christopher Columbus : a massive globe
Alessandro Antonelli’s Basilica of San Gaudenzio : a massive heaven on earth
Athanasius Kircher’s Turris Babel : a needle-like design for the mythical tower
The Ancient Chullpa of Peru : a type of tomb built by the Aymara people
Antoni Gaudi's Hotel Attraction : a skyscraper from the Catalan master
Bologna Rising : a look at an Italian town famous for its forest of towers
Calvin Pollard’s Proposal for the Washington Monument : a gothic tower
Charles Ribart’s Triumphal Elephant : a monumental pachyderm from 1758
The Chicago Columbus Tower : an 1891 proposal for an Eiffel-like structure
The Chicago Tribune Tower : alternate crown designs for the iconic tower
The Chrysler Building : Alternate crown designs from the design process
Clarence H. Blackall’s Study for an Office Building : an ambitious elevation
The Columbian Triumphal Arch : an 1891 proposal for a massive horseshoe
The Coney Island Globe Tower : a massive globe and a massive fraud
Constant-Désiré Despradelle’s Beacon of Progress : a massive obelisk skyscraper
A Design for Converting The Crystal Palace Into A Tower 1000 Feet High
A Design for a National Memorial : a supertall obelisk for New York City
The Earthquake-proof Depthscraper : a subterranean tower design from 1931
The Évreux Belfry : a renaissance tower dominating a townscape
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Mile High Skyscraper : a 1957 proposal for a needle tower
Friedrich Gösling’s Proposal for the Reichstag : an elaborate neo-Gothic design
The Great Tower for London : designs for an Eiffel-like monument
The Grenelle Artesian Well of Paris : a well, a fountain and an observation tower
The Highrise of Homes : a tower of suburban homes by James Wines
The Imperial Monumental Tower of Westminster : a looming Gothic tower
The Izumo-taisha Shrine : a look at an ancient Buddhist temple up on stilts
The Larkin Tower : John Larkin’s proposal for the world’s tallest building
The Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Axis Mundi : why this tower is so famous
The Metropolitan Life North Building : a design cut off by the Great Depression
Monument to British Heroes : Edward B. Lamb’s Neo-Gothic proposal
A Monument to the Glory of the First Aerial Navigators
The Moai of Easter Island : exploration of these statues and their design
The Mole Littoria Project : the tallest building in Europe for Rome
The New York American Journal Headquarters : an eclectic sliver tower
The Origin of the Obelisk : massive upright monoliths from Ancient Egypt
The Pabst Building and the Symbolism of Verticality : height and the city
The Phare du Monde Pleasure Tower : would you drive up 1640’ in the air?
Piero Portaluppi’s SKNE Company Skyscraper : a tower concept from 1920
The Porcelain Tower of Nankin : a look at the now-destroyed pagoda
The Proctor Steel Tower : Eiffel Tower 2.0 for the next World’s Fair in Chicago
A Proposal for an Observation Tower in Prospect Park
A Proposal for Monumental Lighthouse : a student proposal from 1925
The Qtub Minar : an ancient tower marking the location of a religious complex
Richard Trevithick’s Monument to the Reform Act : a 1,000’ tower proposal
Ryōunkaku Tower : Japan’s first skyscraper, built in 1890
Saverio Dioguardi's Tribune Tower Proposal : a Beaux-Arts wonder
The Singer Building and the Power of Nostalgia : why destruction erases criticism
Sir Christopher Wren’s Church Steeples : a search for the proper way build high
A Sketch Design for the Washington Monument : a student’s idea for the tower
The Three Fluted Towers of the Chicago World’s Fair : a triad of unusable towers
The Tower of Babel : a parable of verticality from the Old Testament
The Tower of Civilization : a proposed tower with a spiral ramp to the top
The Towering Centerpiece of a World Centre : verticality as progress
The Towers of Svaneti : a medieval town of tower-houses for defense
The Unbuilt Inmaculado Corazón de María : a Neo-Gothic Wonder
Vladimir Tatlin’s Tower : a Constructivist supertall proposal from 1920
Winstanley’s Eddystone Lighthouse : the world’s first offshore lighthouse

Flight and Flying Machines

Composite images of various flying machine designs
A Compendium of Dirigibles : an exhaustive collage of early dirigibles
Early Aeronautics : 1899 collage showing various flying machines
Early Balloon Designs : drawings of balloon designs throughout history
Flying Machines : a drawing of flying machines throughout history
Tableau d’Aviation : a table of real and fictional flying machines
Those Wacky Victorian Flying Machines : ideas with unknown origins
The Utopia of Air Navigation from the Previous Century : a collage from France

Ideas and prototypes for flying machines throughout history
Daedalus and Icarus : a parable of human flight from Ancient Greece
Alexander the Great’s Flying Machine : an Ancient Greek flying machine
Flying Carpets and the Power of Flight : the mythical flying tapestries
An Early History of the Parachute : sketches and ideas of how to fall
The Myth of Wayland the Smith : a mythic figure and his ability to fly
King Bladud and the Myth of the Flying Man : A mythical flying king
Abbas ibn Firnas’ Attempt At Flight : a leap from a tower in 875 AD
The Flying Throne of Kay Kāvus : a fictional flying machine from 975 AD
Eilmer of Malmesbury, The Flying Monk : a 1010 tower leap by a monk
Leonardo da Vinci and Human Flight : a 1487-1505 quest for flight
John Damian, the False Friar : an alchemist who tried to fly in 1507
The Man in the Moone : a fictional flying machine from the 1657 book
Francesco Lana de Terzi’s Aerial Ship : a 1670 design for a flying boat
Besnier’s Flying Apparatus : a 1678 attempt to fly
Bartolomeu de Gusmão's Passarola Airship : a 1709 idea for a flying ship
Emanuel Swedenborg’s Glider Sketch : a 1714 sketch of a glider design
Marques de Bacqueville’s Leap of Faith : a 1742 leap from a roof in Paris
The Unpretentious Philosopher : a 1775 sci-fi story about a spaceship
Nicolas Edme Rétif’s Flying Man : a fictional bird suit from 1781
The Montgolfier Brothers : the first piloted balloon flight from 1783
Jean Mathieu’s Aerostat Balloon : an undercooked balloon design from 1784
Alban & Vallet’s Comte d’Artois : a balloon with two large propellers from 1785
Étienne Gaspard Robert’s La Minerve Airship : a fantasy airship from 1803
Jakob Degen’s Flugmaschine : an 1807 ornithopter with a balloon
Albrecht Berblinger’s Hang Glider : an 1811 design that successfully flew
Pierre Ferrand’s Corkscrew Airship : an 1835 design for an airship
Sir George Cayley and Aviation : the Father of Aviation’s glider designs
Henson & Stringfellow’s Aerial Steam Carriage : an 1842 powered flight
Tessiore’s Balloon Project Towed by a Tame Vulture : an 1845 satirical proposal
Henri J. Giffard’s Airship and Captive Balloon : an 1852 controlled flight
Louis Charles Letur’s Parachute-Glider : an 1854 glider design
Jean Jacques Bourcart’s Ornithopter : a flapping-winged design from 1866
A Voyage to the Moon : an 1867 cartoon with a fictional flying machine
Jean-Marie Le Bris’ Artificial Albatross : an 1868 glider based on a bird
W.F. Quinby and his Flying Machine Patents : a set of patents from 1869
E.P. Frost’s Ornithopters : two ornithopter prototypes from 1870 to 1904
Vincent de Groof’s Ornithopter : an 1874 attempt that ended in tragedy
Félix du Temple’s Monoplane : an 1874 craft that achieved a short flight
A Proposed Flying Machine : an 1874 design from Scientific American
Thomas Moy’s Aerial Steamer : an 1875 aircraft with massive propellers
A Suggestion for a Flying Machine : an 1877 concept with wings and a balloon
Charles F. Ritchel’s Dirigicycle : an 1878 man-carrying dirigible
Alexandre Goupil’s Sesquiplane : an 1883 steam-powered craft
William O. Ayers’ Aerial Machine : an 1885 idea for a flying machine
Jules Verne’s Clipper of the Clouds : a fictional flying ship from 1886
R.J. Spalding’s Birdman Suit : an 1889 patent for a bird suit
Clément Ader's Éole and Avion III : an 1890 and 1897 bat-like aircraft
Otto Lilienthal, The 'Flying Man' : glider experiments from 1891-1896
Gustave Trouvé’s Flügelflieger : an 1891 ornithopter that successfully flew
Augustus Moore Herring’s Gliders : a glider prototype from 1894
Hiram Maxim’s Flying Machines : an 1894 prototype with five pairs of wings
Octave Chanute’s Glider Designs : gliders in 1896 with myriad collaborations
Samuel Langley’s Aerodrome : a biplane design from 1901
Wilhelm Kress’ Drachenflieger : an elaborate prototype from 1901
Gustave Whitehead’s Flying Machines : various designs from 1901-1904
Richard Pearse and a Claim to the World’s First Flight : 1903 in New Zealand
The Jatho Biplane and a Challenge to the Wright Brothers : a flight from 1903
The Wright Flyer : the first-ever powered flight from 1903 in Kitty Hawk
The Wright Brothers’ Patent : a patent for the iconic Wright Flyer
The Marquis Multiplane : an elaborate design from 1908 that never flew

Mountains and Mountaineering

Examples of mountains and mountaineering throughout history
The Altitudinal Decrease in Vegetation : an illustration from the 1860s
Altitudinal Zonation : the vertical layering of a mountain’s landscape
Earning the Summit : thoughts on what it means to climb up to a summit
The First Ascent of the Matterhorn : celebration and tragedy in 1865
High Places : thoughts on high places and why they appeal to us
Markus Pernhart’s Großglockner Paintings : scales of the human and mountain
Mountain Climbing and Verticality : climbing up Mount Washington
Mountains and Glaciers : the immense power of frozen rivers to shape the land
A Mountain of Mountains : a historic illustration of the world’s tallest peaks

Art, Literature, Folk Tales and Comics

Examples of verticality throughout the history of art, literature and folklore.
The Black Condor : a comic from 1940 featuring a man who can fly
Da Vinci’s Saint John the Baptist : an upward gesture to the sky
Dante and the Eagle : a scene from Dante’s Divine Comedy
Dante’s Divine Comedy and the Vertical Worldview : Dante’s vertical travels
The Flight of Geryon : a mythical beast and the terror of flight
The Flying Machine by Ray Bradbury : the dangers of new technologies
The Flying Trunk : a fairy tale with a flying suitcase and a trip to Turkey
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship : a Russian folktale
Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog : being on a mountaintop
Jules Verne’s Clipper of the Clouds : a fictional flying ship from 1886
Leonardo da Vinci, 500 Years Too Soon : a comic about the young polymath
Markus Pernhart’s Großglockner : the scales of the human and mountain
Minnikin’s Flying Ship : a magical ship and the power of flight
The Myth of Pegasus and Bellerophon : a winged horse and a hero
Peter Pan and the Delights of Flying : a group of children are gifted with flight
Pinocchio’s Feathered Steed : a whimsical flight by the iconic wooden puppet
Raphael’s School of Athens : Plato, Aristotle, philosophy and verticality
Rapunzel and the Isolation of Height : a prison high up in a tower
Satan Overlooking Paradise by Gustave Doré : a scene from Paradise Lost
The Tale of the Ebony Horse : a folk tale about a flying horse
The Traveling Companion : a mysterious man who can fly and kill trolls
The Two Cherubs : looking up and longing for the sky
The Witches’ Frolic : a legend by Thomas Ingoldsby
Zeus, Poseidon and Hades : The verticality of the Greek gods

Alternate Realities

Examples of alternate designs for famous buildings
The Chicago Tribune Tower : alternate crown designs for the iconic tower
The Chrysler Building : alternate crown designs from the design process
A Colossal Hotel at the Eiffel Tower : re-making the base of the Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower : a proposed addition to the iconic tower
The Great Tower for London : a competition to out-Eiffel the Eiffel Tower
The Washington Monument : a more elaborate original design

Anecdotes

Personal experiences that relate to verticality
A Tale of Two Apartments : my experiences living sky-high and at the ground
Earning the Summit : thoughts on what it means to climb up to a summit
Machu Picchu and A Fear of Heights : my history with a fear of heights
Mountain Climbing and Verticality : climbing up Mount Washington

Musings

Essays that explore a specific topic
Altitudinal Zonation : the vertical layering of a mountain’s landscape
Bipedalism and the Skyscraper : James Wines links a tower to the human body
Daedalus and Icarus : a parable of human flight from Ancient Greece
Dante’s Divine Comedy and the Vertical Worldview : Dante’s vertical travels
The Duality of Heaven and Hell : a primal relationship based on verticality
An Early History of the Parachute : sketches and ideas of how to fall
Earth, Air, Water and Fire : the verticality of the classical elements
Flying Carpets and the Power of Flight : the mythical flying tapestries
Height Lineups and the Abstraction of Verticality
Hugh Ferriss and Religion on the Skyline
The Human Body and Flight : why we are incapable of flight
The Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Axis Mundi : why this tower is so famous
Liftoff and the Freedom of Flight : thoughts on the human need to fly
The March of Progress and the Fallacy of Progressive Evolution
Mountains and Glaciers : the immense power of frozen rivers to shape the land
Nadar and the Aerial Perspective : the world’s first aerial photographs
The Origin of the Obelisk : massive upright monoliths from Ancient Egypt
The Singer Building and the Power of Nostalgia : why destruction erases criticism
Stacking Typologies : what if every floor of a tower’s façade was different?
Stylites and the Power of Will : could you live atop a pillar for 37 years?
Superheroes and Skyscrapers : why they are so often shown atop skyscrapers
Terracing and the Green Machine : making meaningful green spaces
The Tree and the Skyscraper : exploring the conceptual link between the two
Trinity Church and The Contemporary Dwarfing of Historic Structures
The Verticality of Clouds : different cloud types at different altitudes
The Verticality of Roller Coasters : the race to be the world’s highest and fastest

Snippets

Short writeups on a specific image or theme
A Comparison of Apes and Man : a police-style lineup of bipedal apes
Albert Robida’s Aerial Rotating House : an entire house raised up on a turntable
Albert Robida’s Eighteen-Story House : a vision for a vertical town
Albert Robida’s Flying Advertising Machine : a cheeky vision for mustard ads
Albert Robida’s Vision for Paris : a night sky filled with flying machines
The Altitudinal Decrease in Vegetation : an illustration from the 1860s
An Aerocab Station atop the Tour Saint-Jacques : churches and dirigibles
An Airport on top of Notre Dame : a fantasy for alighting atop the cathedral
By the size of the work, we measure the size of man : Gustave Eiffel and his tower
The Chrysler Building’s Hidden Spire : the need to be the world’s tallest
Cities of the Future from the Past : a look at some past visions for future cities
A Colossal Hotel at the Eiffel Tower : re-making the base of the Eiffel Tower
The Colossus of Chicago : a satirical take on the need to out-Eiffel Paris in Chicago
The Death of Madame Blanchard : an aeronaut couple who both died in balloons
Domes and Steeples of the Old World : a diagram featuring these two forms
Early Balloon Designs : drawings of balloon designs throughout history
Eiffel as his Tower : a caricature of Gustave Eiffel as his iconic tower
The Eiffel Tower Effect : the entire world flocks to the Eiffel Tower
The Empire State Building’s Mooring Mast : a plan to dock airships to the tower
En L’An 2000 : ideas for the future from 1899 for the year 2000
Flying Machines : a comparative illustration showing early attempts at flight
A Foolproof Way to Direct the Balloons : a satirical view of ballooning from 1787
Forests and Verticality : thoughts on the verticality of forests growth
Franz Reichelt’s Fatal Leap from the Eiffel Tower : a fatal leap in 1912
High Places : thoughts on high places and why they appeal to us
The Horizontal Layers of a Building Site : diagram of layers on a building site
How You May Live and Travel in the City of 1950 : a vision for a vertical city
Im Jahre 2000 : ideas for the future from 1898 for the year 2000
The Isolation of Flight : how the higher we go, the more isolated we get
La Belle Alphonsine by E. Florés : a fictional dirigible made from a woman’s skirt
L’Homme Volant : a picture of a dangling Otto Lilienthal in Frankfurt
The Language of Verticality : how our everyday language reflects verticality
Madame Helene Alberti’s Cosmic Wings : flight based on Ancient Greek laws
The Magic City : An architectural fantasy of a colonnade supporting a city
Man Vs. Nature : illustration of the scale of nature and human constructions
The Many-Layered Atmosphere : a diagram showing the layers of the sky
The Matrix and Verticality : how the movie uses verticality to signify power
A Mountain of Mountains : a historic illustration of the world’s tallest peaks
Mr. Golightly and the Flight of Intellect : chilling on a steam rocket from 1826
Nat Lowell and the Tip of Manhattan : a mountain of skyscrapers from 1940
The Need to Build on High : an illustration showing a series of hilltop homes
Nothing can stop a flying man! : a comic book villain and the power of flight
The Original Flat-topped Sears Tower : before it got it’s iconic white antennae
The Pabst Building and the Symbolism of Verticality : height and the city
Parachutes : A Fantastic Dream of the Ancients Come True : a comic from 1943
Sébastien Lenormand’s First Parachuting Attempt : a leap from a tower in 1783
The Secret Apartment at the Top of the Eiffel Tower : Eiffel’s private pad
The Skeletons of a Man and Bird : a comparison of two bipedal skeletons
Skylines As Value Indicators : why skylines reflect the values of their city
Skyscrapers of Philadelphia : how prominence enhances perceived height
Skyscrapers of To-morrow : a concept for a massive slab-like skyscraper
Stacking Suburbia : illustration of a skyscraper that stacks suburban homes
Tableau d’Aviation : a table of real and fictional flying machines
The Tallest Building in the South : a postcard depicting a wildly tall tower
The Urban Canyon : thoughts on the inhuman scale of the skyscraper
The Utopia of Air Navigation from the Previous Century : a collage from France
The Vertical Townscape : medieval Bruges and a town pointing to the sky
A Voyage to the Moon : an 1867 cartoon with a fictional flying machine
Those Wacky Victorian Flying Machines : ideas with unknown origins
What Everybody Wants To Know About The Empire State Building
What Goes Up, Must Come Down : a diagram of a balloon flight
What We Are Coming To : an artist’s idea for an arcology from 1895
The Woolworth Building and the Question of Ornament : exterior vs. interior
Woolworth Building Tower Above the Clouds : an iconic photo from 1928
The Wright Brothers’ Flying Machine Patent : the first-ever powered flight
Zeus, Poseidon and Hades : The verticality of the Greek gods
Zoning Envelopes and the New York Skyscraper : zoning effects on towers