Video Presentations: Living in a Highrise Future: New Ideas. New Questions. New Answers.

Brad Wilkins
Design Principal, Architecture & Urban Design
BRAYA, Chicago

The world and our cities are experiencing change at a greater speed than ever seen before. This presentation attempts to address how we live in skyscrapers in a changing world. It focuses on how high-rise buildings need to change to be more youthful, adaptable, and continually evolving.

Living in high-rises is a part of human evolution. As digital connectivity soars, we are becoming more disconnected from each other. This disconnection is driving our appetite for community. Examples in this presentation will show how environments that are inspirational can create the type of community that resonates with our innate desire to connect with each other.

The topics of well-being, branding and authenticity are discussed through the lens of how buildings are and will change to meet the needs of a diverse and increasingly urban population that desires community, authenticity, and culture. Design can provide vivid, remarkable, and memorable experiences that can provide a place for community to flourish. There will always be a need for collective, social experience, and shared identity.