ABSTRACT
Limitations are best perceived as a function of time. With the accelerating pace of technological change, today’s limits are often yesterday’s science fiction, and probably tomorrow’s routine standards. Nobel laureate Sir Peter Medawar (see the introduction to Part Four) did not anticipate the ways double-deck elevators, shuttles and sky lobbies would overcome the “obvious” limit of vertical transportation for super tall towers. So it would be wise to respond to the frequently asked question “How high can we go?” with humility: tomorrow’s technology is sure to overtake today’s answer. But even today, there is no theoretical structural limit until building heights are considered in miles or kilometers.
