Architecture always plays the key role in them, although there are often autonomous and at times amusing side-shows – passers-by, cars, prams, furniture, tools or artworks, all drawn true to scale and with the purpose of intimating and emphasizing the usability of the planned buildings. 

The stage is set by the major cities of the United States, Europe, and the Far East. Foster’s Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, Cesar Pelli’s Docklands Tower in London or Helmut Jahn’s Messe Tower in Frankfurt not only tell us a tale of the change in the construction techniques and design of high-rises – and they logically form a large section of the exhibition. They also document a globalized and networked architectural world in which the architects, investors and construction sites are based at locations spread around the globe.