A Chinese architect in Shanghai commented to one of the authors, “In our big cities we build high for practical purposes, just as in the West. But the culture of China is much more traditional than...

A Chinese architect in Shanghai commented to one of the authors, “In our big cities we build high for practical purposes, just as in the West. But the culture of China is much more traditional than the culture of the West, especially in its arts. With painting, for example, it often takes an expert to identify a twentieth- or twenty-fi rst-century work from earlier centuries. The painter begins by imitating a style and then evolves a style that never loses its roots. Likewise, the Chinese architect tends to be very sensitive to the styles of the past, and that past is more reverent to the earth than to the sky.” Is this comment relevant to the toppings of many of the Shanghai high-rises?