The living skyscraper : mapping the vertical neighborhood

The rise of the skyscraper was not driven by programmatic needs or artistic desires, but rather economic conditions coupled with turn-of-the-century technological innovations. As it evolved, systems matured to provide comfort and safety while economic efficiency was always prioritized. The skyscraper and its systems reached its evolutionary plateau in the 1950s when mechanized systems transformed the building type into air-tight homogenous structures, maximizing efficiency and economy. This was based on an office culture that today, due to innovations in communications technology, is growing ever more obsolete. However, as cities continue to grow, skyscrapers are increasingly residential. In fact, residential skyscrapers can have population and land areas similar to city neighborhoods, yet lack any character or identities that give neighborhoods diversity. Despite vast functional differences, residential towers are only slight modifications of their office tower ancestors - some superficially domesticated via the use of brick and gable roofs. Appearance does not account for the lack of diversity and opportunities for social interaction. The concept of a "residential skyscraper" is currently an oxymoron: the neighborhood which requires diversity is housed in a building type that is notoriously homogenous. This thesis reconceived the skyscraper as a vertical neighborhood - a dynamic network of communities in the sky. The inverted design process prioritized the community by focusing upon the internal social and spatial systems of the skyscraper - two systems that are essential to fostering a community yet do not currently exist as design considerations. Therefore, they are not included within the conventional catalogue of systems, and the problems

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2004

Author dc:creator

• Lee, Tom, 1979-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Andrew Scott.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/27054

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/27054