tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post3705111992841545776..comments2024-03-29T03:50:00.893-04:00Comments on Urban kchoze: Fear of heights 2: the urbanist editionsimval84http://www.blogger.com/profile/10615053214354191224noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-46042208600180492362014-05-28T20:25:12.026-04:002014-05-28T20:25:12.026-04:00You just stole one of my observations here ;)
Yes...You just stole one of my observations here ;)<br /><br />Yes, having narrow buildings may be more important than having small buildings for the "human scale". Narrow buildings mean more doors, more stores, more variety as people walk. If you have wide buildings, even if the buildings are commercial and surrounded by huge windows, the effect is not as pleasing as the door can be far away. And if we're talking of a residential building, it's even worse, wide residential buildings tend to be one blank wall hundreds of feet wide as residents don't want windows through which passerbys can peer into their homes and there may be only one door.<br /><br />In Japan, I sometimes saw buildings up to 10-story high but just 20-foot wide, if that. I may post an article later on about the importance of narrow buildings, if so I'll show some of these pictures.simval84https://www.blogger.com/profile/10615053214354191224noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-15770696137993042892014-05-28T16:52:28.866-04:002014-05-28T16:52:28.866-04:00I largely agree with you. The one thing I wil say ...I largely agree with you. The one thing I wil say though, is that wide buildings can be boring compared to multiple narrow ones that make for more varied streetscapes. Also the narrow buildings will tend to be smaller in terms of total sf, and perhaps more likely to be built and owned by members of the community (maybe that's wishful thinking though), which can have additional advantages. Typically if you allow a large increase in density, the land aquisition costs will be relatively low compared to the total size of the project, and it's easier to consolidate multiple properties for one big building. If you're replacing 2 storey row houses with a 4 storey walkup, or for that matter, and 4 storey walkup with a 10 storey building, or 10 storey building for a 30 storey building, these are smaller increments of intensification that mean that it's more difficult to buy out adjacent property owners, and the building will more likely be narrow. <br /><br />You can see this even with highrises, where in the denser parts of downtown Toronto they're often on smaller lots, often 50-100ft wide (sometimes less) while in North York for example (or in the student neighbourhood in Waterloo, ON) they might be on lots several hundred feet wide with often multiple towers, because it's relatively cheap to buy out half a dozen houses or more.<br /><br />Parking requirements also contribute, since there's a certain minimum lot size needed to be able to build a parking garage.NickDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07006815196885883516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4153985804832811048.post-72960235517835301082014-04-26T13:45:01.012-04:002014-04-26T13:45:01.012-04:00Great blog! I just discovered it. Keep it coming :...Great blog! I just discovered it. Keep it coming :)Brandon G. Donnellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06375619573397408588noreply@blogger.com