As many architects and visionaries have shown over a period spanning more than a century, the recreation of the urban realm in the sky through connections between buildings at height has a vast potential for the enrichment of our cities. To many it seems nonsensical that, although the twentieth, and now twenty-first century, has clearly seen a push towards greater height and urban density in our major urban centers, the ground-pavement level remains almost exclusively the sole physical plane of connection. As the world rapidly urbanizes, greater thought needs to be expended on how horizontal space can be developed at height. Today, new transportation technology, and relatively new structural engineering practices, seem to put horizontal habitat in the sky within reach. But cultural, organizational, and jurisdictional obstacles remain. To overcome these, a solid case needs to be made for the extensive benefits of skybridges in a much wider application than has been seen historically.

The purpose of this research project, kindly funded by thyssenkrupp Elevator, is to succinctly capture the state-of-the-art in skybridge design, as well as put forward a set of principles for future development. The CTBUH believes it is likely we will see more skybridges, and more horizontal development at height between tall buildings, especially with the advent of the ropeless elevator, which can operate multiple cabins in a single shaft, as well as horizontally. But there is no guarantee that future skybridge-linked projects, let alone cities, will be of high quality unless we begin to seriously analyze how well the existing structures function, and learn from them. This research therefore marks an important milestone in the development of an urban space that has persisted through utopian visions and emerged as a practical, point solution in isolated cases, but now is emerging as a major design typology. We seek to provide a framework for better understanding the skybridge and improving upon it.