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From the article; “ These towers would contain new dwelling space—light-filled apartments of twelve-hundred square feet, each equipped with a balcony and parki

From the article; “ These towers would contain new dwelling space—light-filled apartments of twelve-hundred square feet, each equipped with a balcony and parking spot” Where does your assessment come from?

Animats 6y ago
From the geometry. Those things have the diameter of a city block. That's the problem with those old giant arcology designs. Too much volume for the amount of outside wall. They look great in drawings. Yes, you can have a hollow center with interior balconies. It's been tried. It fails for residential.
- keiferski 6y ago
  > Yes, you can have a hollow center with interior balconies. It's been tried. It fails for residential. Most buildings in Budapest are set up this way and I don't see how it fails. Technically they are hallways, not balconies, but they function the same way.
  - luckylion 6y ago
    I think a lot of it has to do with the size of the court yard and the height of the building. Four stories with a court yard that's as long and wide as the buildings are high? That can work. 50 stories with a yard that's 50m across? The lower levels will live in perpetual twilight.
    - keiferski 6y ago
      Brainstorming here: what about light tunnels every ±5 floors that use mirrors to funnel light from outside the building into the courtyard? In theory, this would work...I think.
      - m4rtink 6y ago
        There are modern municipal housing buildings in Vienna that do this - mirrors for community space ilimunation during the day. :)
- maeln 6y ago
  I Spain it is fairly common to see appartement building with a hollow center and interior balconies (but they usually have exterior balcony too). I honestly hated this design because the hollow center was almost never getting any light, but it was getting the moist and the rain, making it look dirty almost all the time. It also act has a good way for sound to propagate. You can hear your neighbours at all time ... When the hollow center has the size of a court, it is okay, but when it is just a few meters wide, it is truly awful.
- kingkawn 6y ago
  So you’re saying that a quick glance at the diagram means that you think she was lying about the apartments having light?

Animats 6y ago

From the geometry. Those things have the diameter of a city block. That's the problem with those old giant arcology designs. Too much volume for the amount of outside wall. They look great in drawings. Yes, you can have a hollow center with interior balconies. It's been tried. It fails for residential.

keiferski 6y ago
> Yes, you can have a hollow center with interior balconies. It's been tried. It fails for residential. Most buildings in Budapest are set up this way and I don't see how it fails. Technically they are hallways, not balconies, but they function the same way.
- luckylion 6y ago
  I think a lot of it has to do with the size of the court yard and the height of the building. Four stories with a court yard that's as long and wide as the buildings are high? That can work. 50 stories with a yard that's 50m across? The lower levels will live in perpetual twilight.
  - keiferski 6y ago
    Brainstorming here: what about light tunnels every ±5 floors that use mirrors to funnel light from outside the building into the courtyard? In theory, this would work...I think.
    - m4rtink 6y ago
      There are modern municipal housing buildings in Vienna that do this - mirrors for community space ilimunation during the day. :)
maeln 6y ago
I Spain it is fairly common to see appartement building with a hollow center and interior balconies (but they usually have exterior balcony too). I honestly hated this design because the hollow center was almost never getting any light, but it was getting the moist and the rain, making it look dirty almost all the time. It also act has a good way for sound to propagate. You can hear your neighbours at all time ... When the hollow center has the size of a court, it is okay, but when it is just a few meters wide, it is truly awful.
kingkawn 6y ago
So you’re saying that a quick glance at the diagram means that you think she was lying about the apartments having light?