New York City

The island of Manhattan is one of five boroughs that comprises modern-day New York City. Joining the neighboring boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island, the City of New York was consolidated as such in 1898. While part of a larger whole, “New York City architecture” typically refers to the built environment of Manhattan. Indeed, the iconic image of contemporary New York City is the Manhattan skyline. Its tall buildings have historically been concentrated in the Financial District on the southern tip of the island, and in Midtown, although recent developments have seen these traditional boundaries expand northward and to the outer boroughs. By the early 1700s, the Native Lenape population had largely been displaced by colonists—first the Dutch, who named their community on the southern tip of Manhattan New Amsterdam, and later the British, who again rechristened this area New York. As a result of the near-continuous cycle of demolition and construction that has characterized so much of New York’s history, little evidence of the earliest structures—both Native and European—survives. Yet the Dutch and British settlements laid the ground work for future expansion. With a population concentrated at the southern tip of the island, subsequent development continuously pushed northward. Infrastructure projects like the Brooklyn Bridge, completed in 1883, physically connected Manhattan to then-neighboring city of Brooklyn, and subsequent bridges and tunnels further linked the island to its surroundings, creating a regional metropolis. Because of New York’s significance to national history—for a short time, it was the capital of the early Republic, and in the 20th and 21st centuries it is a capital of finance, media, and visual culture—literature on the city’s built environment is vast. This bibliography thus proceeds from general resources to a chronology that begins in the late 18th century, and continues up to recent developments in the architecture and urban planning that shape the city in the early 21st century.

Study of the dynamic response of a CAARC building by the synthetic wind method and comparison with different approaches

Purpose This paper analyzes the effect that is generated in the dynamic response of a Commonwealth Advisory Aeronautical Council building for different types of power spectra. This article also compares synthetic wind method (SWM) results with wind tunnel tests and other numerical approaches.Design/methodology/approach One of the main methodologies developed in Brazil, the SWM, is employed to determine the dynamic wind loads. The Davenport, Lumley and Panowski, Harris, von Karman and Kaimal model are used in SWM to generate the resonant harmonics. Lateral pressures are calculated by the wind speed deflection profile for 30, 35, 40 and 45 m/s. The structure is processed in Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis with numerical analysis in FEM by the Hilber–Hughes–Taylor method. To corroborate the synthetic wind with experimental results, displacement curves are developed for wind tunnel experimental results, Davenport method, Eurocode and NBR 6123, together with the SWM.Findings Results show that for 30 m/s, the lowest convergence of the power spectra models was presented and that the greatest difference found was below 10%. In addition, it was shown that Eurocode 1-4 can lead to oversizing, while NBR 6123 can lead to undersizing, compared with the experimental results. Finally, results by the Davenport method, wind tunnel test and synthetic wind showed good accuracy.Originality/value By carrying out this comparative analysis, this work presents an important contribution in the field of calculating the dynamic response of tall buildings. Studies with these comparisons to corroborate the SWM had not yet been carried out.

Continuous Deep Beams Behavior Under Static Loads: A Review Study

Few studies discussed the continuous deep beams CDB behaviour in spite of its great importance in building constructions due to the usual use in bridges and tall buildings as a load distributer. The behaviour of CDB shows a different behaviour when comparing with the simply supported one, so the expected behaviour of SDB does not match with the CDB. So, this paper deals with reviewing the behaviour of CDB in the past researches. It has been concluded that, the CDB resist the applied loads by flexural and shear together, the flexural behaviour appears at the first loading stage then the beam start to resist by shear capacity. The amount of resistance of beam by flexural depends on a/h ratio, main and web steel reinforcement and concrete compressive strength. Flexural behaviour may not appear for very small a/h ratio or over main reinforcement. Also, main steel reinforcement at both top and bottom of beam does not reach to yielding point expected one case, which is, the main steel ratio is less than 0.6%, thereby, tie failure will governs.

Evolution in Approach to Colour in Tall Buildings’ Architecture on the Isle of Dogs, London, UK

Architects’ approach towards colour in architectural design evolved radically in the recent 50 years, and ranges from a modernist aversion to a vernacular appreciation. These changes were linked to the development of culture, technology and scientific knowledge in different areas connected to human functioning. The authors have examined evolution in design of tall buildings in the Isle of Dogs in London (UK) since the 1980s. The area experienced major growth spurs in the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, resulting in the greatest concentration of tall buildings in London today. The Island has been a playground for architects who have developed a range of approaches to the design of towers. The authors observed the evolution of architectural style, analyzed application of colour and made connections between scale, beauty and human behaviour. They concluded that colour in tall buildings’ architecture on the Isle of Dogs is predominantly used to disguise their massing. Colour detail facilitates the domestic feel of a public realm. Therefore, alongside decorative quality, and if considerately applied, colour may positively influence the quality of living and working environments.

The Tall Building and Urban Space

If public spaces in the urban environment are seen as extensions of one’s home, then what role do tall buildings play in this setting? In terms of space, they can have various roles. They are visible from afar and often act as landmarks, but at the same time they give one a possibility to see the urban whole in its entirety, from above. One of most iconic images of modern urban planning and modern urban space – Le Corbusier’s plan for Paris – is shown from such a vantage point, depicting an urban area dotted with individual buildings set within a continuous spatial field. This modern space has often been described as open and homogeneous. The simplified general interpretation has further been complemented by the concept of heterogeneous space, paving the way for a more diverse spatial theory. Heterogeneous space has brought much needed complexity to interpretations of architectural space. Modernist space is revisited in this article, explored through two particular cases. In addition to Le Corbusier, the study includes the work of another architect and urban planner of the early 20th century, Eliel Saarinen. The role of tall buildings in the designs and writings of the two architects is compared, with a specific focus on the spatial implications of these buildings in the cityscape. The comparison illustrates the fact that modern architects were not unanimous in their visions of urban space, although they shared the knowledge of a contemporary spatial theory.