THE “AMERICAN” SKYSCRAPER: PERCEPTIONS OF THE SKYSCRAPER IN BRITISH MEDIA DURING THE FIRST DECADES OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Abstract

The absence of the skyscraper from the British skyline in the first decades of the twentieth century is notable. This paper contributes to an understanding of some of the reasons for this by analysing how perceptions of what was seen as an essentially “American” form of architecture within British contemporary media, influenced architectural practice in Britain at the time. It will be seen that apathy if not overt hostility met the calls for the skyscraper to be adopted to alleviate some of the pressing urban issues being faced in Britain, resulting in the skyscraper remaining absent from the British urban skyline.