Sustainability impact of tall buildings: Thinking outside the box!

Applying the criteria regularly used in sustainability assessment of "ordinary" buildings leads to the observation that tall buildings are "not sustainable." But nothing is ordinary about tall buildings and such an evaluation is not appropriate. While tall buildings may not measure up to the same sustainability standards applied to not-tall buildings, they do indeed have a significant sustainability impact if assessed within their appropriate context. This paper promotes the idea that in evaluating "sustainability" of tall buildings, we must look at their sustainability impact beyond their physical boundaries and within the urban context.