The glow of grime Of course this 'sheen of antiquity' of which we hear so much is in fact the glow of grime. In both Chinese and Japanese the words denoting this glow describe a polish that comes of being touched over and over again, a sheen produced by the oils that naturally permeate an object over long years of handling—which is to say grime. If indeed 'elegance is frigid', it can as well be described as filthy. Jun'ichirō Tanizaki & Thomas J. Harper, In Praise of Shadows timeaestheticsfilthflaws
21. Four-Story Limit Problem There is abundant evidence to show that high buildings make people crazy. Solution In any urban area, no matter how dense, keep the majority of buildings four stories high or less. It is possible that certain buildings should exceed this limit, but they should never be buildings for human habitation. Christopher Alexander, Murray Silverstein & Sara Ishikawa, A Pattern Language In every skyscraperIt begins with a trip down the stairsLow wooden silhouettesSkyscrapers are frowned upon citiesurbanismhome