What if New York City could unlock housing on its leftover lots?
This entry to NYC’s Big Ideas for Small Lots competition solves for a familiar Philadelphia condition within the Manhattan context. Emphasizing light construction, walk-up density, unit size variety and an active sidewalk front, our proposal explores a modest, flexible and adaptable multifamily infill strategy for small and oddly shaped lots across the five boroughs.
LOOSE FIT
New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development + AIA NY / ISA / New York NY / 2019
New York City's zoning code is geared toward large scale development, requiring a minimum of eighteen feet in width and 1800 square feet in lot area to develop infill parcels across the city. The onerous process required to obtain variances for developing these small, narrow and oddly shaped sites coupled with the high cost of construction has left these lots in a gray area, destined either to remain vacant or to be developed as extremely high-end housing to recoup development costs.
The Loose Fit proposal seeks to employ these lots to reopen a series of footholds for diverse communities, providing access to the city's resources through a housing and cultural incubator. Spatial flexibility (double density mezzanine units), social engagement (communal kitchen/dining facilities), and entrepreneurial spirit (public pop-up programming) combine to create a new prototype for small buildings with big impact.
Multi-family housing build costs are typically driven by construction type and circulation configuration. In NYC, where inexpensive wood-frame construction is illegal under the building code, egress stair and elevator logistics become particularly important to keeping costs down. A four-story single stair walk-up with mezzanine levels within each unit maximizes livable area while minimizing building construction costs. Each double height unit hosts a mezzanine pod (1/3 the area of the open floor below) which has a semi-private entry and separate bathroom. The pod could be a private studio, a roommate bedroom, or expanded family solution.
A key element of the project is a street level mixing zone that invites the residents of a Loose Fit project to occupy and activate the sidewalk. In many cases this space is also an invitation to the neighborhood at large to participate in the life of the building. A shared kitchen/dining space, workshop, art pop-up, garden/toolshed, or salon/gallery are all imagined programs. The shared kitchen/dining room is used to solve the competition site in Harlem as it relieves the build cost of each unit with a major shared amenity creating a more affordable project.
The building touches the ground lightly. Rather than proposing deep foundations along edges of existing buildings triggering expensive underpinning, the project keeps its foundations toward the center of the site, using existing party walls to ledger into and brace against. The body of the building itself is designed with a regular module dimension which is prefab-friendly should that be determined as advantageous.
Maximum build out potential occurs on attached corner sites, with entry along the long site frontage. Attached infill, detached and shallow sites support smaller buildings to allow site access and contextually appropriate height and density. Circulation and open spaces fill gaps between unit and community amenity modules, making best use of all site area.