2026 VU Summit London Proceedings - DIGITAL

Density and Identity: Shaping Skylines, Elevating Culture asks how high-density urbanism can respond to climate, mobility, and housing pressures while strengthening, rather than diluting, the identity of the cities it shapes. Published for the 2026 VU Summit in London, the first flagship event since the Council’s transition from CTBUH to the Council on Vertical Urbanism, this volume gathers papers by architects, engineers, developers, and operators working on four continents, with a substantial focus on host city London, as well as Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dubai. Together, the authors argue that identity is earned at the ground plane, in the public realm, in the systems that make tall buildings comfortable and efficient, and in the decision to keep existing buildings standing. Topics range from optimal urban density and vertical landscapes to supertall energy performance, curtain-wall retrofits, and elevator modernization.

Editor: Daniel Safarik
Layout/Production Editor: Tansri Muliani Wood
Publisher: Council on Vertical Urbanism, Chicago
Year: 2026
Type: Digital
Pages: 253
ISBN: 978-0-939493-97-5