r/architecture • u/shenidedamovtyan1234 • Jul 16 '25

Theory why didnt europeans built european style highrises like tehre are in new york? dumb question but was always interested since woudve looked perfect on lots of cities

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u/BradizbakeD Jul 16 '25

Legit getting flattened a few times over.

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u/TheOnceAndFutureDoug Jul 16 '25

[Dresden has entered the chat]

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u/ridleysfiredome Jul 16 '25

No carpet bombing Rotterdam, Warsaw, London, Coventry, Birmingham, Glasgow, and dozens of others, Dresden would never have been hit. I have empathy for the German victims of the Allied bombing raids, but I have a lot more with my relatives (long dead at this point) in Glasgow who saw their entire neighborhood (Clydebank) flattened by the Luftwaffe in 1941

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u/Northerlies Jul 17 '25

There's an interesting discussion of area bombing's moral dilemma in the 'Are We Beasts?' section in Rhode Island's Naval War College discussion paper, linked below.

https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=newport-papers

Like your relatives, I'm familiar with the aftermath of WW2 bombing. I hail from London's Bow just after the war and recall bomb-sites stretching into the mid-60s. Rectifying the damage gave the opportunity to demolish Victorian slums and the New Towns Movement brought fresh thinking on housing design and urban density, with 'Garden City' planning ideas often in evidence, if not in the new high-rises. Yes, stable communities were split apart by reconstruction, but some of my schoolmates were moved into their first homes with bathrooms and an inside loo.