For anyone interested in this sort of thing "Why Buildings Fall Down" [1] is a good related book. I did civil engineering at university and you'd be surprised how many beautiful and interesting buildings only ended up that way because of constraints forced on the engineers and architects by the surrounding environment.

[1] https://www.amazon.co.uk/Why-Buildings-Fall-Down-Structures/...

I wish the author had referenced "Why Buildings Fall Down," the book that first made me aware of the Citicorp Building problem: http://www.amazon.com/Why-Buildings-Fall-Down-Structures/dp/...