Facade of Many Faces: a Hybrid Skyscraper
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Façade of Many Faces: A Hybrid Skyscraper A thesis submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture In the School of Architecture and Interior Design of the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning March 16th by: Rachael Green B.S. Architecture, University of Cincinnati, 2018 Minor in Sociology, University of Cincinnati, 2018 Committee Chairs: Edward Mitchell Vincent Sansalone ii Abstract: Skyscrapers of the late 19th century looked vastly different than they do today. Historically, the skyscraper began as a single form extrusion containing a single program. Throughout history the skyscraper took on many new forms. Zoning and setback laws of the 1960’s changed the way that the skyscraper looked and was thought about. There has always been a race and desire to have the tallest skyscraper in New York City, and as technology developed it allowed for skyscrapers to be built taller. New York City would become one of the most prominent cities for the skyscraper as well as one of the most iconic skylines. As new heights were reached there was a split from the once ornamental and sculptural skyscraper. Both in past and present day New York City there is an emphasis on designing the tallest and most slender skyscraper. As previously mentioned with the emphasis on height, there was importance placed on the glass tower. Over time this led to the skyscraper becoming an ambiguous and aesthetically standardized building. Office towers and apartment buildings look the same and offer no indication as to what the skyscraper contains. Newer developments have taken over historic parts of New York City and are alien to the architecture surrounding it. While the technology has enabled these skyscrapers to expand, people and historic architecture is forgotten. This thesis explores the historic and theoretical development of the skyscraper and how to challenge the current entire glass clad skyscraper. Through façade articulation, program, section, relationship to the ground and character, this skyscraper will become a place in which every person can have it all. Through the relationship of iii both public and private spaces, the skyscraper will transform from an ambiguous, glass tower into something that represents the history of New York City. iv v Table of Contents Abstract ii Table of Contents v List of Illustrations vi 1. Introduction 1 2. Early Development and Theory 4 3. Chicago School 11 4. Frank Lloyd Wright 16 5. European Theorists 19 6. Cinema and the Skyscraper 24 7. City within a City 28 8. Hybrid Skyscrapers 31 9. New York City and the Skyscraper 40 10. The Site 49 11. A New Typology 52 12. Conclusion 63 Bibliography 65 vi List of Illustrations Figure 1: Kings View of New York, Richard Rummel – Illustration courtesy of Dobraszczyk, Paul. Future Cities: Architecture and the Imagination. London: Reaktion Books. 2019. Figure 2: Drawing by Hugh Ferriss – Illustration courtesy of Ferris, Hugh. The Metropolis of Tomorrow. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. Figure 3: Drawing by Hugh Ferriss – Illustration courtesy of Ferris, Hugh. The Metropolis of Tomorrow. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. Figure 4: Drawing by Hugh Ferriss – Illustration courtesy of Ferris, Hugh. The Metropolis of Tomorrow. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. Figure 5: Drawing by Hugh Ferriss – Illustration courtesy of Ferris, Hugh. The Metropolis of Tomorrow. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. Figure 6: Construction of the Wainwright Building by Adler & Sullivan. Archive at University of Missouri. Figure 7: Details of the Wainwright Building. Archive at University of Missouri. Figure 8: Wainwright Building. Archive at University of Missouri. Figure 9: The Illinois Building by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation Archives. The Museum of Modern Art, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York. Figure 10: Friedrichstrasse Skyscraper by Mies van der Rohe. MoMa Photography Collection, New York Figure 11: Cartesian Skyscraper by Le Corbusier. http://www.fondationlecorbusier.fr/corbuweb/morpheus.aspx?sysId=13&IrisObj ectId=5752&sysLanguage=en- en&itemPos=51&itemCount=215&sysParentName=home&sysParentId=65 Figure 12: Still image of the cathedral tower. Lang, Fritz, director. Metropolis. Universum Film (UVA). 1927. Figure 13: Section drawing of Lang’s film Metropolis. http://socks-studio.com/2012/08/15/about-metropolis/ Figure 14: Original cover illustration by Madelon Vriesendorp for Delirious New York by Rem Koolhaas. vii Figure 15: Dutch Pavilion by MVRDV for the 2000 World Expo. Diagram by MVRDV. Figure 16: The Downtown Athletic Club. Photo courtesy of Delirious New York by Rem Koolhaas. Figure 17: The Unit Building by Raymond Hood. Photo courtesy of Delirious New York by Rem Koolhaas Figure 18: The Galleria by David Spector. Architectural diagram courtesy of 50 Hybrid Buildings by a&t Research Group. Pg. 69 Figure 19: New York City skyline. Photo courtesy of https://buildingtheskyline.org/revisiting-1916-i/ Figure 20: Photo of the Chrysler building and its crown. Photograph by author. Figure 21: Photo of the entrance of the Chrysler building. Photograph by user Wally Gobetz, via flickr. Figure 22: Historic photo of the Manhattan skyline in 1896. Library of Congress. Figure 23: Photo of Manhattan skyline in 1931. Photograph by Irving Underhill, via Library of Congress. Figure 24: Photo of Manhattan skyline in 1999. Photograph by Richard Berenholtz, via Photographynewyok. Figure 25: Projected Manhattan skyline in 2022 including new supertall skyscrapers. The Skyscraper Museum, New York. Figure 26: Site plan. Drawn by author. Figure 27: New development and waterfront. Drawing courtesy of Friends of Bushwick Inlet Park Figure 28: Watercolor collage. Drawn by author. Figure 29: Axonometric section and façade study. Drawn by author Figure 30: Plaster cast study by author. Figure 31: Plaster cast study by author. Figure 32: Plaster cast study by author. Figure 33: Plaster cast study by author. viii Figure 34: Axonometric program studies. Drawn by author. Figure 35: Program diagram. Drawn by author. Figure 36: Axonometric section and façade study. Drawn by author. 1 Introduction Figure 1: Richard Rummel’s 1911 illustration entitled Kings View of New York showing the future of architecture and transportation in New York City 2 The skyscraper has taken society to new heights both figuratively and literally. Skyscrapers have long been considered an economic status symbol among cities. There has been and continues to be a competition to have the tallest building in the city, showcasing who and what the city strives to be. Over time they have been streamlined, adapting to new technologies, new ways of thinking and to new aesthetics. They are a way for cities to become denser, containing floors of housing in a single footprint. Currently cities are a high density cultural and architectural mecca, one that is expanding both up and out. Many cities are growing in population, seeing relocation for jobs and other opportunities. But even with these benefits, the architecture does not seem to match. Buildings are getting taller and are seemingly more aesthetically standardized. This high density of housing is causing units to become smaller and denser with an emphasis on size rather than human needs. People are living hundreds of feet in the air and the best feature that can be offered at these heights is a view. Even with these remarkable views, there does not seem to be a connection to the city beneath it. The towers that are occupied lose their sense of place, isolated in the sky, disconnected from the city and its people. It creates a barrier between not only place and people, but also a barrier in human interaction. How can people be brought together through different programs all located in a single building entity? What does it mean and look like to live, work, and play above the city below? To truly know the skyscraper and how it has transformed historically, the tower typology must be studied throughout time. What were the catalysts politically, socially, and materialistically to create such a change? The ever-present, translucent, flat, extruded form of current skyscrapers has created ambiguity within the tower itself and 3 now looks to give unique identity back to the skyscraper through facade and crown articulation. This paper will explore the historical significance of the skyscraper and how it can transform a new tower typology within New York City. The final design will focus on Rem Koolhaas’s theory of a “city within a city” as a way of bringing the city towards the sky, offering up a multi-level extension of New York City that utilizes and explores multiple programs within a single skyscraper. In Delirious New York Koolhaas mentions that buildings are no longer designed, but instead are extruded forms ultimately decided upon by a developer.1 This thesis looks to challenge the ever-present extruded form of the skyscraper, transforming the now translucent, flat skyscrapers into a tower that respects the history of the city while exploring programmatic façade articulation. It aims to remove the ambiguity that has been created within these towers, giving unique identity back to the building. 1 Koolhaas, Rem. Delirious New York. Monacelli Press, 1994. Pg 82. 4 Early Development and Theory Figure 2: Drawing by Hugh Ferriss in the Metropolis of Tomorrow depicting the future of New York City 5 “Between the colossal inanimate forms and those mote-like creatures darting in and out among the foundations, there is such contrast, such discrepancy in scale”.2 In The Metropolis of Tomorrow, Hugh Ferriss breaks down the city and its buildings into three parts: cities of today, projected trends, and an imaginary metropolis. Each section dealing with information regarding how cities impact the design of skyscrapers and vice versa. In the first section titled Cities of Today, Ferris catalogues the parts that make up cities and skyscrapers in the twentieth century.