3 ms·

Why North America Can't Build Nice Apartments (Because of One Rule)

11 points by bane 3y ago

ImPostingOnHN 3y ago
[video] I did not click because it is both click bait and a video. What is the rule?
- melenaboija 3y ago
  How do you know it is a video if you did not click and why it is click bait? I mean, is it not true what is being told in the video? This is a sincere question, I am a total ignorant in construction and planning.
  - ghodith 3y ago
    The title comes across a bit clickbaity.
  - belltaco 3y ago
    You can see the domain(youtube.com) in gray on the right which tells you it's a video. The title is very clickbait ("because of one rule").
  - ImPostingOnHN 3y ago
    Clickbait is content titled in a way that intentionally obscures the critical information, forcing one to click through to find it, when that isn't necessary. The fact that it's needlessly inflammatory ("North America can't build nice apartments") is unfortunate as well. I guess the one in which I live is shit? A non-clickbait title for this content might be "[how] the two-staircase rule limits apartment construction in North America". Note how it was both possible and easy to name the rule before the click, if one wished to do so, rather than bait people into clicks.
- dangus 3y ago
  I don’t think it was clickbait. But it is a video. The channel itself is generally reputable and doesn’t produce low-effort content.
- houseatrielah 3y ago
  All apartments above 2 or 3 stories need two sets of staircases and everywhere else its 6-stories.
- belltaco 3y ago
  I used Bard to summarize the video and this is the response. This video is about the two-staircase rule in North American apartment buildings and how it restricts the construction of new housing, particularly family-sized apartments. The speaker argues that the rule, which requires all apartments above two or three stories to have two separate staircases, is unnecessary and outdated. They make the following points: The rule is based on historical fire safety concerns, but modern building materials and fire codes have made buildings much safer. The speaker cites the example of cities like Amsterdam and Paris, which have single-staircase buildings and lower fire death rates than North American cities. The two-staircase rule makes it difficult to build new housing, especially in desirable neighborhoods where land is scarce. Single-staircase buildings can be smaller and fit on smaller lots, making them more feasible in these areas. The two-staircase rule limits the types of apartments that can be built. Single-staircase buildings can have more flexible layouts, allowing for more two- and three-bedroom apartments, which are in short supply in many cities. The speaker acknowledges that the two-staircase rule has some safety benefits, but they argue that these benefits are outweighed by the negative consequences. They propose that the rule should be relaxed or eliminated, with stricter fire safety regulations in place for taller buildings. The video also mentions a design competition in Metro Vancouver called "Decoding Density" that is challenging architects and designers to come up with new ideas for six-story housing that comply with a modified building code that allows for single-staircase buildings. Overall, the video is a call to action for policymakers and the construction industry to reconsider the two-staircase rule in order to make it easier to build more and better apartments in North America. Here are some additional details from the video: The speaker mentions that scissor stairs, which are two staircases that crisscross down one column, are not a good solution because they are still bulky and take up a lot of space. The speaker provides some statistics on fire deaths in different countries, showing that the US and Canada do not have the fewest fire deaths per capita. The speaker mentions that the building code in North America is stricter than in other parts of the world, such as Europe and Asia.
  - chrismcb 3y ago
    Just how big of a footprint does a staircase take up?
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
yftsui 3y ago
The video initially got me bought the idea that require 2 stairs is the problem, until the last 4 minutes using a Seattle apartment as an example, quoting Seattle doesn't require 2 stairs for apartments up to 3 stories as the reason that Seattle got better apartment units. I looked up the building on Seattle.gov: https://www.seattle.gov/dpd/AppDocs/GroupMeetings/DRProposal3013374AgendaID4783.pdf https://www.seattle.gov/dpd/AppDocs/GroupMeetings/DRProposal.... The mentioned building is on 1720 12th Ave in Capital hill, it is a 4 story building in the first place, per page 30. It is also a ridiculous spacious apartment unit, Seattle has the smallest apartments in US, an usual 2 bedroom is about 1000 sqft. The 2 bedroom unit showed in the video has a square footage of roughly 1500 sqft based on the plan set page 20, it is definitely not the normal apartments you see here. It looks to me other than regulations, there are other reasons for those large block size apartments.

11 points by bane 3y ago

ImPostingOnHN 3y ago

[video] I did not click because it is both click bait and a video. What is the rule?

melenaboija 3y ago
How do you know it is a video if you did not click and why it is click bait? I mean, is it not true what is being told in the video? This is a sincere question, I am a total ignorant in construction and planning.
- ghodith 3y ago
  The title comes across a bit clickbaity.
- belltaco 3y ago
  You can see the domain(youtube.com) in gray on the right which tells you it's a video. The title is very clickbait ("because of one rule").
- ImPostingOnHN 3y ago
  Clickbait is content titled in a way that intentionally obscures the critical information, forcing one to click through to find it, when that isn't necessary. The fact that it's needlessly inflammatory ("North America can't build nice apartments") is unfortunate as well. I guess the one in which I live is shit? A non-clickbait title for this content might be "[how] the two-staircase rule limits apartment construction in North America". Note how it was both possible and easy to name the rule before the click, if one wished to do so, rather than bait people into clicks.
dangus 3y ago
I don’t think it was clickbait. But it is a video. The channel itself is generally reputable and doesn’t produce low-effort content.
houseatrielah 3y ago
All apartments above 2 or 3 stories need two sets of staircases and everywhere else its 6-stories.
belltaco 3y ago
I used Bard to summarize the video and this is the response. This video is about the two-staircase rule in North American apartment buildings and how it restricts the construction of new housing, particularly family-sized apartments. The speaker argues that the rule, which requires all apartments above two or three stories to have two separate staircases, is unnecessary and outdated. They make the following points: The rule is based on historical fire safety concerns, but modern building materials and fire codes have made buildings much safer. The speaker cites the example of cities like Amsterdam and Paris, which have single-staircase buildings and lower fire death rates than North American cities. The two-staircase rule makes it difficult to build new housing, especially in desirable neighborhoods where land is scarce. Single-staircase buildings can be smaller and fit on smaller lots, making them more feasible in these areas. The two-staircase rule limits the types of apartments that can be built. Single-staircase buildings can have more flexible layouts, allowing for more two- and three-bedroom apartments, which are in short supply in many cities. The speaker acknowledges that the two-staircase rule has some safety benefits, but they argue that these benefits are outweighed by the negative consequences. They propose that the rule should be relaxed or eliminated, with stricter fire safety regulations in place for taller buildings. The video also mentions a design competition in Metro Vancouver called "Decoding Density" that is challenging architects and designers to come up with new ideas for six-story housing that comply with a modified building code that allows for single-staircase buildings. Overall, the video is a call to action for policymakers and the construction industry to reconsider the two-staircase rule in order to make it easier to build more and better apartments in North America. Here are some additional details from the video: The speaker mentions that scissor stairs, which are two staircases that crisscross down one column, are not a good solution because they are still bulky and take up a lot of space. The speaker provides some statistics on fire deaths in different countries, showing that the US and Canada do not have the fewest fire deaths per capita. The speaker mentions that the building code in North America is stricter than in other parts of the world, such as Europe and Asia.
- chrismcb 3y ago
  Just how big of a footprint does a staircase take up?

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

yftsui 3y ago

The video initially got me bought the idea that require 2 stairs is the problem, until the last 4 minutes using a Seattle apartment as an example, quoting Seattle doesn't require 2 stairs for apartments up to 3 stories as the reason that Seattle got better apartment units. I looked up the building on Seattle.gov: https://www.seattle.gov/dpd/AppDocs/GroupMeetings/DRProposal3013374AgendaID4783.pdf https://www.seattle.gov/dpd/AppDocs/GroupMeetings/DRProposal.... The mentioned building is on 1720 12th Ave in Capital hill, it is a 4 story building in the first place, per page 30. It is also a ridiculous spacious apartment unit, Seattle has the smallest apartments in US, an usual 2 bedroom is about 1000 sqft. The 2 bedroom unit showed in the video has a square footage of roughly 1500 sqft based on the plan set page 20, it is definitely not the normal apartments you see here. It looks to me other than regulations, there are other reasons for those large block size apartments.