Audio slideshow: Chicago's doomed spire

The Chicago Spire was going to be one of the world's tallest buildings. But the financial downturn torpedoed its funding, and now it is all but dead. With other major projects on hold or cancelled, some critics say this is the end of North America's love affair with skyscrapers.

Robert Bruegmann, of the University of Illinois, considers the fate of super-tall buildings in the US, and explains why he believes the spire may yet be built.

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Photographs, interview and slideshow production by Joe Boyle.

Archive images courtesy of Getty Images and Robert Bruegmann, spire drawings courtesy of Santiago Calatrava LLC. Music by New Order. Publication date 25 May 2011.

Related:

Robert Bruegmann - homepage

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