Tall buildings can be wildly polarising. Some people see them as beacons of a modern future and glittering symbols of a city's wealth and status, while others find them dehumanising and alienating.
Yet some experts say that in a fast urbanising world - in China half the population now lives in cities - where there is rampant population growth, skyscrapers not only represent the planet's future but are also one of the more viable and sustainable visions of this future.
Building up instead of out is an antidote to the problems of urban sprawl and an over-dependence on cars that have come to characterise many of the world's large cities in recent decades. And as the technology of building, cooling and heating tall buildings gets more efficient, and skyscraper complexes are increasingly combined with cutting-edge transport facilities, the benefits of building tall and minimising land use will eventually outweigh concerns about the large carbon footprint of constructing and operating skyscrapers.
According to Paul Katz, managing principal at international architecture firm KPF, the architects behind Hong Kong's 118-storey International Commerce Centre, more people are moving closer to the city for convenience.
'Ironically, our virtual connectivity has affected the physical world in that people are looking to be closer to each other and use space in new ways,' says Katz.
The environmental benefits of living and working in the same place are obvious: you drive less, or not at all, and don't need as much space.
Half of KPF's work today is in Asia. The project that cemented its reputation in the region was Plaza 66, a 228-metre-high office complex in Shanghai completed in 2001 that has extensive entertainment and retail offerings. The skyscrapers of tomorrow will increasingly be 'vertical cities' that combine several uses, says Katz, adding that this is already more prevalent in Chinese cities than in the West.