Question: I've been reading through other posts about such megastructures and they're getting me part of the way to my destination. Wanted to see about a few specific options my imagination has latched onto.

The original concept is a tower, an arcology with a 1 km base level (willing to taper it as it gets higher if necessary), reaching to at least 8 km altitude. 

Assume that available power is not an issue.

One idea is: Blocks, rectangular or triangular prisms, containing powerful electromagnets that are the 'mortar'. I liked this option because the society is ancient, and a blocky look fits the aesthetic better, masking the futurism. I realize it is power inefficient. Would such a thing work on this scale?

Thanks!

EDIT to reflect excellent comments: 

Trying to avoid elegant solutions such as Space Fountain, Space Elevator, etc. We want to solve the issue of structural stability with brute force as much as possible. Would a system like this hold up versus gravity, bending and torque at high altitudes?

Answer: 
**Yes but...**

You would need to install quite a lot of ports on the head of a person, because You need to connect directly to a lot of nerves, both on the facial side (eyes, nose, everything in mouth) and at the base of the skull, to the spinal cord.

THEN You would need a lot of work to decode that person's signalling scheme. Unfortunately, it seems our brains dont use the same 'coding pages' if you will - for example, the information about blue color is encoded by a different signal in my brain and in yours.

THEN You would somehow need to take over control of stuff that our conscious brain oversees or directly controls - You dont want muscles controlling the bladder suddenly letting go.

Unfortunately, this technology is much farther than we would like.
[Functional MRI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Functional_magnetic_resonance_imaging) allows noninvasive measurement and characterization of brain activity. With high resolution one could map and characterize brain activity corresponding to various voluntary activities. This is not science fiction; described here (in 2012) is a device that uses brain fMRI to generate letters and spell words.
<https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982212005751>

So controlling something with your mind noninvasively: yes.

What about feedback directly to your brain. This could be accomplished with [transcranial magnetic stimulation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transcranial_magnetic_stimulation). Magnetic fields are used to produce current in a nerve, replicating the effect of that nerve firing. I googled to see if this technique had ever produced hallucinations in a person (as one would expect if a sensory nerve were stimulated in absence of inputs from the sensory organ). These folks propose that ball lightning is a product of exactly this phenomenon, occurring naturally. !
<https://www.technologyreview.com/s/418887/magnetically-induced-hallucinations-explain-ball-lightning-say-physicists/>

So efferent and afferent nerve control is possible with near future precise magnetic technology.

The problem then is moving the remote without moving your body. That can be accomplished with mid 1900s technology. Paralytics are routinely used to prevent muscular motion in persons on a ventilator because of illness or surgery. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuromuscular-blocking_drug>
It is upsetting to be paralyzed while not sedated as occasionally happens by accident. You can be paralyzed, awake, and feel pain. For purposes of the scenario in the OP I think paralytics (and respiratory support with a ventilator - you are paralyzed!) would serve.