Questions to ask myself

So,  I think I'm going to try and stick to the city in the sky theme/topic...and see where it takes me. Here are a few questions I think need answering/further research:

1. how did towers come to be? (historically - babel till present)

2. why were towers built the way they were? (shape/character etc..)

3. what is the value of open space/recreational space?

4. what were some of the architects of the modern age's visions?

5. what are the proportions like - based on method of construction/landownership etc..?

In asking these I should probably come across more information which will eventually lead me to more questions...and so the cycle begins..

Thesis: Topics + Ideas

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1. Title: Spiritual Architecture in a Secular World: the Power of Space and its
Capacity for Inspiration.

Question: How can 'spiritual architecture' be better integrated into the 'secular city'?

Reason for Interest: As someone who considers themselves spiritual to some degree, I find myself troubled by the lack of spaces that captivate and help promote spirituality in the fast paced hustle and bustle of the World at present. Human beings are not machines and it is my belief that the spaces we inhabit should reflect that - and that there should be an integration of this 'spiritual architecture' into the city to provide man with a means of release and refuge from the monotony of life.

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6. Civitas Celestialis (City in the Sky): Urban Containment

Question: What would the effect of building around the already existing architecture of a city have on its development and containment?

Reason for Interest: We seem to be going in one direction when it comes to building and that direction is up. However the lone 'towers' or skyscrapers of the 20th and 21st centuries are if anything distant from the remainder of the buildings in their vicinities. The purpose of this thesis would be to develop a city into something more integrated in comparison to its former self-facilitating movement from earth to sky and building to building. For as demolishing buildings can become too expensive and land scarce - we need to use technology and our capacity to build 'up' to our advantage to prevent urban sprawl and successfully contain these cities further developing them than directing our attention elsewhere. The City in the Sky is something I would like to explore as a means of urban containment. This would of course need to be specific to a particular city with an already abnormally high population and urban density.
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