Beyond Style: Timeless Principles

What makes the tower architecturally significant isn't its style—it predates and transcends stylistic categories. Rather, it's the principles it embodies:

1. Form follows force: Every shape responds to structural requirements 2. Material honesty: Iron is celebrated, not disguised 3. Transparency: Structure and space interpenetrate 4. Scalar richness: Engaging from city scale to rivet detail 5. Contextual response: Despite its height, it complements rather than dominates

These principles remain relevant to contemporary sustainable design. The tower uses minimum material for maximum effect—the entire structure weighs less than the air in a cylinder containing it. This efficiency, born of 19th-century economy, speaks to 21st-century environmental concerns.