January 21, 2007
On Program: A Cast of Characters
Scenario 1: One House. One Subway. One Nightclub.
A journey from a house to a nightclub via the subway becomes the occupant’s traveling narrative through the city that informs the creation of his memory map: an imagined architecture that extends his memory into the landscape of the city. Through the synaesthesia of memory and physical sensations within his domain, the house joined with the subway and the nightclub, memories surface on his perception of the moment and he dwells, poetically, within a near-fictional narrative. His domain becomes his memory palace. The interlocking programs for Scenario 1 joins one residence, one nightclub and a new G Train Platform between 50th and 51st Ave whose entrances intertwine between the other two characters and extends the network of the memory palace back into the greater city with a new transfer to the 7 Train.
Character 1: A House. 2000 sq. ft. maximum
Sub-Characters
1. a bedroom. +/- 200 sq. ft
2. a bathroom. +/- 60 sq. ft
3. a closet. 20 sq. ft max
4. a study/library/studio. +/- 400 sq. ft
5. a living room +/- 200 sq ft.
6. a kitchen/dining room +/- 200 sq. ft.
7. an entry. +/- 50 sq. ft
8. a terrace. +/-700 sq. ft
Character 2: A Subway. +/- 22000 sq. ft.
Sub-Characters
1. a platform. 18000 sq. ft.
2. entries including 24-hour booth. 3500 sq. ft
Character 3: A Nightclub. +/- 12000 sq. ft.
Sub-Characters
1. a vestibule/waiting area (off street) for arrival by subway and car. 1600 sq. ft.
2. a coat room 200 sq. ft
3. a bar. 500 sq. ft.
4. a seating area with tables for 100. 1500 sq. ft
5. a dance floor for 300. +/-2500 sq. ft.
6. stage/dj area. 200 sq. ft.
7. a back stage area. 400 sq. ft
8. lounge rooms 800 sq. ft. total.
9. bathrooms. +/- 400 sq. ft.
10. an administrative office. 150 sq. ft.
11. an employee room. 200 sq. ft.
12. a security office. 150 sq ft.
13. storage including cold storage. 400 sq. ft.
14. an outdoor courtyard. +/-1200 sq. ft.
Scenario 2: Several Houses (apartments). One Subway. One nightclub.
A journey from a house to a nightclub via the subway becomes the occupants’ traveling narrative through the city that informs the creation of their memory maps: imagined architecture that extends their memories into the landscape of the city. Through the synaesthesia of memory and physical sensations within their domains, the apartments joined with the subway and the nightclub, memories surface on their perceptions of the moment and they dwell, poetically, within a near-fictional narratives. The occupants’ domains become their memory palaces. The interlocking programs for Scenario 1 joins the apartments, one nightclub and a new G Train Platform between 50th and 51st Ave. The residents interact as neighbors through the experience of the nightclub and the subway, the entrances to which intertwine between the other programmatic characters and extends the network of the memory palace back into the greater city with a new transfer to the 7 Train.
Character 1: The apartments. +/- 8000 sq. ft. Six units at +/- 1200 sq. ft. each
Sub-Characters
1. a bedroom. +/- 150 sq. ft
2. a bathroom. +/- 60 sq. ft
3. a closet. 20 sq. ft max
4. a study/library/studio. +/- 200 sq. ft
5. a living room +/- 200 sq ft.
6. a kitchen/dining room +/- 200 sq. ft.
7. an entry. +/- 50 sq. ft
8. a terrace. +/-400 sq. ft
9. a common laundry room +/- 30 sq. ft.
10. a common entry and corridor +/- 200 sq. ft
Character 2: A Subway. +/- 22000 sq. ft.
Sub-Characters
1. a platform. 18000 sq. ft.
2. entries including 24-hour booth. 3500 sq. ft
Character 3: A Nightclub. +/- 12000 sq. ft.
Sub-Characters
1. a vestibule/waiting area (off street) for arrival by subway and car. 1600 sq. ft.
2. a coat room 200 sq. ft
3. a bar. 500 sq. ft.
4. a seating area with tables for 100. 1500 sq. ft
5. a dance floor for 300. +/-2500 sq. ft.
6. stage/dj area. 200 sq. ft.
7. a back stage area. 400 sq. ft
8. lounge rooms 800 sq. ft. total.
9. bathrooms. +/- 400 sq. ft.
10. an administrative office. 150 sq. ft.
11. an employee room. 200 sq. ft.
12. a security office. 150 sq ft.
13. storage including cold storage. 400 sq. ft.
14. an outdoor courtyard. +/-1200 sq. ft.
The other task I accomplished this weekend was to take a more in depth look at the site particulary in terms of real world issues such as zoning. Not surprisingly, my project stands to not meet most of the zoning requirements, largely because a nightclub probably cannot exist on my site in reality, and while sorting through the zoning and code texts was arduous, in the end it was kind of interesting to compare my vision for the site to that of the city's vision for the site.
January 20, 2007
About the Site, 5015 Vernon Blvd, Hunter’s Point
Site Addresses
5015 Vernon Blvd, 1001 51st Ave, and 1015-1019 Jackson Ave
Queens, NY 11101
Lot Information
A. Lot Size: 6000 Sq. Ft
B. Zoning: R7X with C2-5 Overlay
C. FAR: Residential = 5.0 and Commercial = 2.0. Buildable Area = 30000 sq. ft. with a maximum of 12000 sq. ft. of total as commercial space.
D. Max Lot Coverage (for Corner Lot): 80% x 6,000 sq. ft. = 4,800 sq ft.
Building Potential
A. Minimum base height is 60 feet. Maximum base height is 85 feet and the maximum allowable overall height is 125 feet. Above base height the set back ratio is 2.7 vertical to 1 horizontal for narrow streets and 5.6 vertical to 1 horizontal for wide streets.
B. Side yards are not required, but any side yard space provided must be a minimum of 8 feet wide.
C. The street wall should be no closer to the street wall of any building within 150 feet but also no farther back than 15 feet.
D. The maximum number of residential units is found by dividing the maximum residential floor area by the factor for dwelling units (680 for the site)
Existing Building on Site: “The Cangro Transmission Building”
A. 2000 sq. ft. footprint. Four stories tall, with 12 foot ceiling heights. Total building square footage is 8000 sq ft.
B. Brick building originally designed for industrial use.
Plan and elevation overlaid.
About R7X Zoning
The R7X zoning designation is used largely in Queens and denotes medium density residential uses designed to conform to the “Quality Housing Program.” The “Quality Housing Program” means to promote buildings that are compatible with the neighborhood scale and character, provide on-site recreation space for its occupants, and also promote security and safety for the residents. The following regulations are designed to achieve these goals.
A. The site must be planted with of a minimum of three-inch caliber street trees every twenty-five feet along the street edge of the lot.
B. The minimum size for any dwelling unit is 400 square feet.
C. Every floor must have a refuse room that is a minimum of twelve square feet with no dimension less than three feet.
D. The buildings must have one washing machine per twenty dwelling units and one dryer per forty units. The laundry room must have a minimum of three unobstructed square feet of standing space and must have an exterior wall with a clear glazed window at least 9.5% of the total floor area of the room in size. It must also include tables or chairs for folding laundry.
E. If a corridor has a minimum of twenty square feet of exterior glazing, 50% of the area of the corridor may be subtracted from the total floor area of the building.
F. The on-site recreation facility must be a minimum of 3.3% of the total building are and be accessible to all residents. An outdoor recreation space must be at least 225 sq. ft. and an indoor recreation space must be at least 300 sq. ft. with a minimum of exterior glazing equal to 9.5% of the total floor area. In either case, no dimension may be less than 15 feet.
G. Safety and security is meant to be achieved by reducing the overall number of units in the building to reduce the occupancy density. Under this provision the building may have a maximum of eleven units per corridor, per floor.
Photograph taken from the Pulaski Bridge.
About Nightclubs
Though the zoning code says rather little about nightclubs specifically, or “Eating and drinking establishments and a capacity of more than 200 persons or establishments of any capacity with dancing,” which fall into Use Group 12, it is clear that they are not permitted within the site’s C2-5 commercial overlay. The C2-5 overlay allows for retail, local services, theaters, public parking garages,
In Conclusion
As an example one can look at the new residential building to the east of the site, across Jackson Avenue that is also zoned R7-X. At eight stories, this building’s bulk does not entirely convince that it respects the context and character of the neighborhood.
Clearly, the real world zoning of the site does not allow for the program of, “A House. A Subway. A Nightclub,” but an understanding of the zoning arguably opens possibilities to work beyond the rules of the code, and at the very least, somewhat reinforces the position to almost completely disregard the zoning in an academic setting. In other words, at least within the context of the project, it is known and understood which zoning requirements the proposal does not follow.
On the other hand, certain ideological principles of the R7-X zoning are certainly applicable to the project, such as the requirement to work within the context and character of the neighborhood, and the requirement to plant street trees, which implies a necessary attitude and intention to considering the relation to the existing streetscape. The encouragement of the use of exterior glazing in areas such as laundry rooms and corridors speaks to the idea that no space in the building should be inconsiderately designed even though they are purely utilitarian spaces, which in turn promotes a greater overall architectural experience. To an extent, these requirements of the Quality Housing Program are a somewhat refreshing change from standard New York building code, which tends to lean towards density and economy, rather than architectural quality and experience.
2 comments:
great post alex, and an immediate response to our discussion today.
it is very much up to you to decide on the zoning parameters. i would loosen up on this considering your proposal may question some of these rules. you may even reduce the apts to 2 units if more manageable...dont forget about the "party" wall...
I was planning on not following zoning particularly closely, though mostly I wanted to have a fairly good understanding of it because of its contextual implications. Hunter's Point is currently changing quite a bit and while the zoning doesn't seem to be in line with the current character of the neighborhood, I suspect it will define the future character of the neighborhood. Something I probably want to think about, particularly if my project starts to address temporality in the city. While not necessarily a focus at the moment it might be important down the road.
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