A skyline is the horizon created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a non-urban setting or in nature. City skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint as no two skylines are alike. For this reason, news and sports programs, television shows, and movies often display the skyline of a city to set a location. The term The Sky Line of New York City was first introduced in 1896, when it was the title of a color lithograph by Charles Graham for the color supplement of the New York Journal.
Contents
- Modern skylines
- Skyscrapers
- Towers
- Sports stadiums
- Remote locations
- Notable architects influencing skyline
- Use of skylines in media
- Subjective ranking of skylines
- References
Paul D. Spreiregen, FAIA, has called a skyline "a physical representation [of a city's] facts of life ... a potential work of art ... its collective vista."
Modern skylines
Some natural skylines have been unintentionally modified for commercial reasons.
Skyscrapers
Tall buildings, including skyscrapers, are the fundamental feature of urban skylines.
Towers
Towers from different eras make for contrasting skylines.
San Gimignano, in Tuscany, Italy, has been described as having an "unforgettable skyline" with its competitively built towers.
Sports stadiums
The Colosseum and 2008 Beijing Olympic Stadium give varied sport stadium skylines.
Remote locations
Some remote locations have striking skylines, created either by nature or by sparse human settlement in an environment not conducive to housing significant populations.
Notable architects influencing skyline
Norman Foster served as architect for the Gherkin in London and the Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, and these buildings have to added to their cities' skylines.
Albert Speer made a notable night time skyline with searchlights at Nuremberg.
Use of skylines in media
Skylines are sometimes used as backgrounds for movies, television shows, news websites, and in other forms of media.
Subjective ranking of skylines
Several services rank skylines based on their own subjective criteria. Emporis is one such service, which uses height and other data to give point values to buildings and add them together for skylines.