Contextual Analysis for Tall Buildings

In the assessment of any development proposal which includes a tall building, context is paramount. In the context of the city centre, tall buildings can mark strategic locations such as gateway sites and transport nodes and when designed and sited appropriately, can make a positive contribution to the legibility of the city (how it is read) and overall character of an area. By their very nature, tall buildings can provide a scale and mass commensurate with higher densities expected in a city centre location and can often be seen as an economically viable option given their ability to intensify the use of land and act as a catalyst for regeneration. However, this must be balanced with the potential impact tall buildings have to significantly distort the city centre identity, character and local distinctiveness by way of their scale, height and massing.