Had it been built, Sir Norman Foster's Millennium Tower in Tokyo Bay would have been the last great skyscraper of the 20th Century. Foster's grand vision was to transform skyscrapers into fully-functioning communities. Currently, the tallest building is the 1,454 feet-tall Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but there are plans to build taller ones in Taiwan, Brazil and China.
Every week brings a new, extravagant plan to build a towering skyscraper.
Most of these grand plans like the Le Corbusier's Radiant City and Wright's Mile-High Illinois never do break ground. Foster's Millennium Tower, however, may still see the light of day, reports Katy Harris of Foster and Partners. Should the stunning conical-shaped structure ever go beyond a blueprint, Foster's design promises a radical reconceptualization of what a skyscraper's function could and should be. With enough room to house 52,000 people, the Foster's towering skyscraper would, in essence, be a self-contained city. Foster is a passionate advocate of creating visually-impressive structures that retain a sense of human scale.