prewar and postwar residential building construction process nyc

Both share a rule of thumb that no interior space be more than 25 to 30 feet from a window that opens.Īpartments, obviously, need operable windows to vent cooking fumes and brighten living space.

These kinds of buildings, often dating to the early 20th century, make for simpler conversions because the same logic that shaped how they were designed as offices a century ago determines how apartments are planned today. And to understand the potential of conversions - and why older buildings often make easier ones - it’s useful to look closely at a pair of buildings constructed 40 years apart, and the evolution of the American office that runs through them.

And they must solve, above all, for access in every unit to fresh air and sunlight.įor many offices, this puzzle may be unsolvable, at least for now.īut for others it is not impossible, even in large modern buildings, even on pricey Manhattan land. Each one must solve for local rules that say what counts as a bedroom, for structural columns and elevator shafts that shape where walls go, for construction costs and land prices that affect rent rolls. The idea, however, is less like a sweeping fix and more like a set of intricate puzzles - a different one for each building. In the process, they could limit the waste of demolition, create new homes with minimal opposition, and renew neighborhoods without radically changing how they look from the sidewalk. The premise suggests cities could solve two problems - an office glut and a housing shortage - at once. There’s an appealing simplicity to the idea of converting office buildings into housing.

Prewar and postwar residential building construction process nyc