New York, five years ago

Hard not to avoid the five year anniversary of the New York attacks today. I visited the city a week after the event, reporting for QS News' sister magazine Building, and the images, conversations and atmosphere that I experienced during that trip will stay with me for the rest of my life. I got as close as you could get to the Ground Zero site, accompanied by a highly determined freelance photographer from Los Angeles, and was dumbstruck when viewing the remains. Smoke continued to pore out of the detritus, which I'm guessing was still at least 10-20 storeys high. And the people I met? From bosses of New York's biggest construction firms to press officers, architects, QSs and engineers, all had lost that swagger and confidence that characterises residents of that city.

I'm sure the city has rebounded since the cataclysmic events half a decade ago. What has also rebounded is the demand and interest for tall buildings. Let's not underestimate the fear and serious question marks raised about whether skyscrapers of such height would ever go up again in the months after the event. The statament by US group the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat today confirms that such fears were unfounded, pointing to the worldwide boom in high-rise construction as an indication of how the industry and general public overcame such fears.

For those with continued interest in events at Ground Zero a documentary is being show on US TV tonight charting the work that has so far taken place at the site - see here, or here for more details. One hopes the shows will be aired across the pond.