Tower Candy

I just couldn't resist posting these two towers that appear to occupy two ends of the spectrum.

The restrained:

Tod Williams Billie Tsien & Associates' design for University of Chicago's performing arts center, as reported by Blair Kamin.

The absurd:

The 60-story house for just one family. "India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, is planning a palace in the heart of Mumbai with helipad, health club, hanging gardens and six floors of car parking." The building will have a floor area greater than Versailles and cost more than £500 million.

Ironically, the BBC reports, "Architects believe that the construction of high-rises will provide a long-term solution to the problem of sheltering the city's homeless, especially when development land is in short supply...Mumbai will soon be 'littered with high-rises' as the government strives to shift slum dwellers into tower blocks."

Thanks to Brandon for the head's up on the absurd!