London and Chicago in conversation: tall buildings and the zero carbon agenda

Peter Murray

Curator-in-Chief
New London Architecture

Jo Bacon

Partner
Allies and Morrison

Cynthia Roubik

Assistant Commissioner, Department of Planning and Development
City of Chicago

Christopher Drew

Director of Sustainability
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

Lynn Osmond

President & CE0
Chicago Architecture Center

Dominic Bettison

Director
WilkinsonEyre

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Speakers from London and Chicago discussed how tall buildings and the zero-carbon agenda affect both cities. Event in association with Chicago Architecture Center.

Chicago is the city of tall buildings, where the world’s first skyscraper was built in 1885. Since then, its skyline dramatically changed influencing many other cities around the world to build high rise buildings.

London, on the other side, is a city that is traditionally associated with a low-rise and low-density character. Yet, in the past decade we have seen a boom of planning and construction that is changing London’s skyline at a fast-pace and challenge the traditional image of London as a low-rise city. Massive redevelopment and megaprojects are also seeing tall buildings clusters pop up in multiple places, yielding new design conundrums all their own.

Both cities are now addressing new pressing priorities: firstly, the climate emergency and the need to reduce dramatically carbon emissions, both in use and embodied, and secondly the covid-19 pandemic. What are the key approaches emerging in these two cities to address these? What are the newest trends in tall buildings design, materials and construction? What are the consequences in planning policies? What will the future of tall buildings in both cities be?

This webinar will hear from speakers joining from London and Chicago to discuss how tall buildings and the zero-carbon agenda affect both cities. This event is part of the NLA City Dialogue programme that connects cities from across the globe in order to exchange information, discuss and debate shared urban issues, and compare approaches.