Progressive Housing in New York City: - Columbia University ...

Sunset Court
Park Slope Homes
By looking at the shape of the footprints we realized that although the layout of these buildings
follow the codes, spelled out in the new-tenement laws, the use of natural light has been
optimized; a conscious effort has been made to place more living spaces on the exterior plane of
the building. Also, with the exception of Alku I & II, the lot coverage for all of these co-ops is
actually lower than the 70% allowed by the codes. This created lots with open spaces that
allowed for good ventilation and ample light. Judging from the selection of lots for these co-ops
(newly built and converted co-ops), we can see that 12 of them face the park, which implies that
in fact the open space required by the codes was not viewed as an impediment by the builders.
This is in contrast to the desire of the speculative builder who maximizes the return on his
investment by maximizing floor area.
Architectural Analysis
Plan and Interior of Three Case Studies
Case Study No. 1 compared to the typical two-family house for working people in Sunset Park
The two-family house for working people has long rectangular plans that create interior spaces
that do not get any exposure to natural light. In the house, except for the spaces that are on
either end of the building, none of the intermediate spaces have windows to the exterior. On the
other hand, all of the spaces in the Finnish co-ops have windows and receive direct natural light.
Moreover, the Finnish co-ops show considerable improvement in the arrangement of spaces,
interior circulation, and in their increased consideration for light and air. Also, the spaces are
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