Site
A sample area of Manhattan is defined for the development
of a prototype zoning structure - 306 blocks located between
W15th to W59th street and 5th to 12th avenue. The central
portion of the ‘site’ is the relatively undeveloped
district known as ‘Hudson Yards’, flanked to
the east by the midtown commercial district and to the north
and south by the predominantly residential Clinton and Chelsea
districts.
|
The zoning model in context
The strips are aligned north-south, extending from one avenue to the next. As each strip has a different composition, so discontinuities (faults) occur across the avenues. The composition of the strips responds to the use characteristics of the existing areas and proposes new distributions of use for those areas where development (and redevelopment) is anticipated. Midtown and the area to the west are projected as areas of dense mixed use development.
|
Zoning
as ‘field’
The zoning structure’s apparent solidity and reading
as ‘form’ belies its virtual condition. It hangs over
the city like a mist, achieving materiality only in
the event that a development is extruded through (and
is conditioned by) its virtual layers. The zoning
structure is seen as a ‘field of possibility’ for
each and every lot which lies within its geographical
boundary. Through the process of piecemeal development,
it facilitates a new spatial distribution of uses
in the city.
|
Subtraction
1
As the use zoning structure only operates upon the
developable space above building lots, the streets
and avenues are subtracted from the model. Upon each
block is left a space composed of particular functions
in a defined proportion and sequence.
|
Subtraction 2
In addition to the streets and avenues, existing and projected open spaces are carved out of the use zoning structure.
|
Subtraction (detail)
A major urban space is projected running west from Madison Square Garden across to the Hudson River. The space anticipates dense mixed use development upon the blocks in the vicinity of Pennsylvania Station.
|
View across Hudson River
The zoning structure (the field of possibility) ‘seen’ from the Hudson River, with midtown beyond.
|
Sections (lateral)
Lateral (east-west) sections through the use zoning structure, referenced by street number (W15 to W59)
|
Sections (longitudinal)
Longitudinal (north-south) sections, referenced by avenue number (5 to 12)
|
Two dimensional v three dimensional zoning
Comparative models of the existing use zoning map (two dimensional) and the equivalent section of the proposed zoning structure (three dimensional)
|
A
new structure for use zoning
The new zoning structure is articulated as a series of linear
strips, each a composition of commercial (red) and residential
(yellow) strata. The use layers are generally inclined to
the horizontal and of variable depth, allowing for transitions
in the combination of functions along the length of the
strip. Inserted transversely are infusions of public uses
(blue), local and discontinuous.
|
Geomorphological
processes
The products of geomorphological processes provide
useful precedent for the development of an alternative
(three-dimensional) structure for use zoning. Geological
strata are subject to compressive, tensile and shearing
forces which give rise to distortions (folds) and
discontinuities (faults) Combined with the effects
of erosion, the operation of these processes upon
sedimentary deposits generates structures of diverse
characteristics.
|
|
|
| |
Copyright © 2004, 2005 Chris Burrows
|
Site
design by Boho Media |
|
|
|
|
|
