Early New York Architecture in 19th Century

Early New York architecture in 19th century focused on how to house the increasing populace on the limited land mass according to Gray (2013). After the end of the First World War the debate and perspective surrounding homes and housing began to shift due to the improving economy and the increase in population.

First apartments

This is how the Stuyvesant apartments, the first apartment in the area was established. According to Wright the Stuyvesant consisted of separate suite rooms and was famous with New York’s middle class (1983). However, it was not entirely smooth sailing for this new design. This development was met with apprehension from the locals; they deemed the design and plan of the house as flawed and decreed the lack of privacy in this new type of building. The Stuyvesant apartment saved time and labor in the construction process as there was only one plan as opposed to previous detached houses which had individual plans and designs.

Family life

The apartment brought with it a myriad of changes, among them a change in family life. One major change in family life brought by apartments is the number of children that one family could bring up comfortably in such space. One technological paradigm shift in design was the vertical construction which had multiple floors. Due to the vertical design of the Stuyvesant apartment, there was now a limited amount of space for each family. Areas such as balconies were now shared and others such as play areas and individual lots were scrapped. People had to readjust and this mostly affected families. The issue of privacy was prominent due to the plan of the house. People had to have fewer children to live comfortably in the apartment which is a practice that continues up to date. Technological advancement also brought about the issue of safety.

Building design

The Stuyvesant was a new approach to building design and naturally people with families were concerned about the living conditions and safety of the building. People with children were mostly concerned about the safety of their children when on the top floors and how much of a task it would be going up and down the flight of stairs as the apartment did not have an elevator. Due to this design flaw people with families have continued to shun apartments and prefer houses without multiple floors.

Culture

The early apartment buildings such as the Stuyvesant were speculative; they were built to speculate how high rise buildings would be received by the public (Mark, 2011). These early buildings had a centralized and communal approach. The lack of privacy and close interaction with other people did not augur well with most of the people. Houses in an apartment have communal amenities. Communal facilities in apartments may include electricity lines, pools, and play areas among others.

One advantage of this setting to families is that children from different homes get to interact and play with each other fostering their growth. Another advantage is cost sharing helps bring down the cost of shared utilities such a garbage collection and security. However, the apartments also had their own shortcomings. Shared amenities meant that if there was an outbreak of a disease it was highly likely to spread before being contained. Shared amenities may also bring confusion and arguments among tenants.

As Beres (2010) acknowledges, the apartments provided a practical and economic solution to cater for the increasing population. The Stuyvesant paved way for the modern, futuristic and contemporary apartments that characterize today’s New York sky line (Hill, 2011).

References

    [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

    1. Beres, C. (1995). New York New York: How The Apartment House Transformed The Life Of The City (1869-1930). Magill Book Reviews
    2. Gray, C. (2013). The Latest in French Ideas. The New York Times. p. 6.
    3. Hewitt, M. A. (n.d.). Culture and the Social Vision. New York Apartment House, 4, 80. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
    4. Hill, J. (2011). Guide to Contemporary New York City Architecture (Illustrated ed.). W.W Norton & Company.
    5. Wright, G. (1983). Building the Dream: A Social History of Housing in America. Cambridge: The MIT Press.
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