AR: Arhitektura, Raziskave (Jan 2013)
AMERICAN MULTI-DWELLING ARCHITECTURE OF THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY AND FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY
Abstract
At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the evolution of American multiple-dwelling architecture was marked by the passage from the standard construction of single-family standalone homes and row houses to a new housing typology which corresponded to all of the new urban planning rules and requirements of the contemporary way of life in cities. New York was the first American city to face the problem of dense settlement in limited spaces. The »U, E, H« ground plan designs were developed and were most commonly used during the period when the Building Zone Resolution adopted in 1916 by New York City was in force. The Building Zone Resolution introduced another novelty into New York town planning, i.e. the setting back of exterior walls above a determined height. Consequently, this gave rise to buildings with stepped profiles and many more storeys. The solutions developed by the New York residential architecture were adopted by other cities and further developed in line with specific local influences. Chicago is the most interesting of these cities; between 1924 and 1929 several quality housing complexes were built there which strongly deviated from the then housing construction in New York by the consistent ground plan designs of structures and apartment designs.
