Tall is not tall enough I have a slight obsession for tall buildings, fuelled by living in Chicago – the home of the skyscraper. One Chicago architect is on record as saying, “Chicago doesn’t have mountains so it has to build it’s own!”

What is it with tall buildings? I work in one (80 floors) every day, yet I still can’t resist a long hard stare up at it as I get closer each morning.

However after just reading 102 minutes by New York Times journalists Jim Dyer and Kevin Flynn I am starting to have second thoughts.

102 minutes is the story of the people inside the fatal twin towers from the first impact on 9/11 at 8.59am to the collapse of the 2nd tower at 10.41am. It is a harrowing, sad and disturbing story and tells openly for the first time the absolute failure of the subsequently acclaimed emergency services.

Nevertheless, in real estate memories seem in short supply as the race to be the earth’s tallest building doesn’t subside. Currently Tapei, the capital of Taiwan, is home to the world’s tallest building. The Tapei 101 Tower is 508m high and consists of 101 stories. This took over from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

In it’s time Chicago has had bragging rights to the accolade, as did the World Trade Center when it was first opened in the early 1970’s.

Recently I wrote about Chicago’s proposed new giant but as I saw in Dubai, money, land and planning permission is no object and the already named Burj Tower with the height still to be determined – all the Chicago architects will say is that it will be the tallest building in the world.

Lets hope they read 102 minutes and take heed of some harsh and heart wrenching lessons.  ¶ 22:12