The story of Icarus speaks of childhood curiosity and punishment for such aeronautical daring. However, the mythological story says little of what the son of Daedalus saw from on high.

When the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889 as one of the main attractions of the Universal Exposition, all voices coincided in singing the praises of views of Paris from a height of 300 metres, the wonder of finally understanding the city’s layout.

It is said that when seen from a certain distance, highs and lows disappear, the variegated blends, and diagnosis acquires greater clarity. Herein lies the prestige and the promise of watchtowers: from a bird’s-eye view, cities present a totalitarian unity unentangled by specificities. But the inevitable impression of dominion offered by the aerial panorama is followed by another effect of organizational beauty, a teleology in which each urban artery, each housing complex and each horizon acquires and consummates its relationship with a larger cause, with that abstract concept that, sometimes, cities can also be.