every nest starts with a simple twig…
Owning your own Townhouse can be a wonderful experience. It can also turn into a nightmare if you have the attitude that it will take care of itself. Knowing the trouble signs can save you from that frustration, help secure your greatest investment and give you the pleasure of living that you deserve.
When a driveway is too steep as it intersects with the roadway, it can cause property damage by allowing the bottom of vehicles’ bumpers to scrape on the asphalt. Further, there can be scratch marks in the driveway where the bumpers of trucks have failed to clear the surface when trying to enter the property, shortening the lifespan of the driveway. This modest modification at the transition can eliminate those issues.
Continue reading “Driveway Transition”Architectural design revolves around several components that when integrated properly can create a beautiful expression that is also functional. Functionality can be described as both the efficiency of its programmatic uses (such as laundry room), and, as a component of how the edifice is perceived (the visual function of a building being expressed as a residence, place of worship, etc.).
Continue reading “Complete Home Programming-Part 1 Intro”
Issuance Date: 04/15/2020
To: Owners and Contractors
Purpose: Updated guidance to owners and contractors on
enforcement of Essential vs. Nonessential
construction in accordance with updated guidance
from the Empire State Development Corporation
issued on April 9, 2020 pursuant to NYS Governor’s
Executive Order 202.6 and subsequent orders.
Continue reading “Covid-19 Non-Essential Construction Guide”
This is a basic overview of websites in the age of Google. Hopefully it will help the small company have a presence when people do Google searches. This is a ‘throw it at you’ article, so please add questions and comments so I can add additional information that I might have missed.
If you haven’t created a website before, or don’t know what a ‘website host server’ is and how to connect to one to upload your website information using FileZilla or some other program, this all might be over your head. The goal here is to help those who have basic knowledge and then to help them ‘get on top of the hill’ so they (their website) can be seen by more people, thus helping their business.
The following analysis for ‘large residential developments’ provides the basics to determining actual quantities of varying sized dwelling units which includes both owner occupied and rentals, as well as low, moderate and high-end units. This program development is done to create a development which reinforces the fundamental composition of a vibrant community, an important part of any neighborhood. The analysis, based on population quantities and age groups, creates a prototype model which can be applied to future residential developments. It also accommodates a small percentage of affordable housing which can be provided at little or no cost, thus responding to a growing social need and proving itself worthy, in all respects, to being an integral part of a community.
The community, both physical and psychological, wishes to achieve the feeling of an extended family, in which all its inhabitants are respected and welcomed, ensuring that no person shall be brushed away as not worthy. It is a community which embraces variety both physically (in the physical form and detail) and in its spirit, for it is variety that provide the foundation for a thriving, energetic, vibrant place. The result in all aspects reflects the best of social living.
The resulting development, containing between 300 and 1500 units, plays its part of a larger city block and street/city scape, incorporating the spirit of surrounding context and enhancing its place with connections to other parts of the city, establishing its place within the larger community. The resulting design, much like the Boston ‘Tent City’ residential development which I designed, consists of a combination of low and mid-rise structures. And for this study I take the best of what I design there, both physically and programmatically, pushing that design technology forward using data from a variety of sources to support the resulting conclusions.
This is Part 1 of an unknown series of examinations into creating the perfect urban residential development. One that is self-sustaining, environmentally friendly and inclusive. It hope to establish basics of program, reinforcing things all humans need to feel like they are home, welcomed, secured and proud of their habitation.
Continue reading “Quantitative Deduced Program for Large Residential Developments”
FAR, the floor area ratio, is determined by multiplying the area of a property by a number determined by the property’s zoning district. For instance a 20’x100′ property in a zoning district of R5 has a factor of 1.25 allowing for 2500 square feet of ‘habitable’ interior space.
The issue is what is considered habitable. FAR accounts for the gross built area including thicknesses of walls, suggesting that the very walls that help define the interior spaces are habitable. This results in something unfortunate, the attempt to make structural walls thinner resulting in larger interior spaces, which results in buildings that feel less sturdy by the increase in noise infiltration, vibration and other factors.
This is a rather mundane study to illustrate one point, that by positioning utility lines in the optimum location, there is a significant savings of material, and thus of maintenance, resulting in cities that can better serve their residents needs. But positioning of utilities, like telephone, cable, water, sewer, gas, steam and electrical is only part of the puzzle in developing a new urban prototype that will not only accommodate more people in better urban environments, but do so with less cost for maintenance into the future.
Continue reading “Utility Study [part of ‘City for 50 million’ prototype]”
Property owners, builders, developers, architects, and engineers may request permission from both the Department of Finance and the Department of Buildings to divide (apportion) or merge (combine) lots. Approval depends on several factors including tax and zoning rules. The Department of Finance Tax Map Office is responsible for processing these requests.
Continue reading “Combining Two Properties or Condominiums in NYC”
Homes are functional machines, although most people don’t consider this factor when designing a new home, or only as a side note. Lets, for a moment, discuss the functional aspects of what humans have to deal with when functioning in a home solely from their point of view, and assume there is a fitting design to solve their daily and weekly tasks in order to save humans the maximum amount of time, thus providing extended opportunities to enjoy life. This is a ‘house as machine’ examination!