It's always easier to build out than up. In the past, people built up for two primary reasons—to please God, and for the command and control of territory. Today, certain near-urban landscapes are dominated by industrial cathedrals and manufactory castles. We continue to build up, but now we do it to please other gods and to control different types of territory.

At night—and only at night—these structures assume a mantle that's somehow both futuristic and medieval. They take on an other-worldly mystery, like ancient citadels on alien landscapes.