New York’s skyline, one of the most famous skylines in the world, would be very different if it had not been regulated by zoning. Zoning is the manner in which a city regulates the built structures by dividing the city into zones or districts. Each zone possesses its own set of rules that regulate the size, scale, height and use of the buildings in that district. A Zoning Regulation, moreover, is the legal measure by which a city imposes these zoning rules. New York adopted a zoning regulation in 1916 (NYC Planning). The zoning code was created in response to the concern that massive buildings blocked light and air from the streets. The monolithic buildings of colossal scales were replaced by more innovative ‘Wedding Cake’ buildings under the Art Deco era perpetrated by the 1916 zoning.
With the growing density of the streets and the increasing bulk of the skyscrapers, citizens of New York became increasingly worried about the repercussions of these developments, both health and commerce related. The continuously rising skyscrapers created deep canyons that prevented sunlight from entering the street. In addition to this, the towering skyscrapers of New York led to the ‘downdraught effect’, which forces wind downwards along the shaft of the building. This, in turn, leads to increased wind speed at the base of the skyscraper. Streets like Broadway, lined with skyscrapers, channel winds through narrow passages which accelerates the air velocity (Parkinson, 2015). The lack of air and light due to these super-tall skyscrapers caused depreciation to the businesses around them. The shadow from these buildings lowered the retail values of properties near the base of the building. This is a form of ‘External Obsolescence’, which in real estate terms refers to the loss in value of a property due to external factors (Ponder).
The completion of the Equitable Building in 1913 on 120 Broadway proved to the tip the iceberg regarding problems with skyscrapers in New York. The lofty forty-story building casts a seven acre shadow on its neighboring streets and buildings. For this reason, its surrounding buildings and streets received no sunlight which had major commercial and health- related repercussions; retailers complained about the permanent darkness and pedestrians about the meager amounts of light and air that reached the streets below (Curbed, 2013).
The Woolworth Building, in contrast to the Equitable building, was also completed in 1913 yet offered a more acceptable model of a towering skyscraper. The design of the fifty-seven story skyscraper restricted the base size of the tower and included set backs, which allowed a smaller tower in the centre to rise to higher heights. This building, designed by Cass Gilbert, inspired parts of the 1916 zoning code (History.com).
The 1916 Zoning Ordinance, merely twelve pages long, was created in response to these problems regarding light and air in the streets of New York. This regulation focussed both on limiting the use and the bulk of buildings. Article III, in particular, is centered around ‘Height Districts’. This article discusses ‘height districts’ which are created in order to limit the height and the bulk of the building. New York has five types of height districts: one times districts, one and one-quarter times districts, one and one-half times districts, two times districts and two and one-half times districts. These limit the height of the building in correspondence with the width of the street it lies on. For example, in a one times district, the building built can only be as tall as the width of the street (NYC.gov).
However, the regulation allows the height of the building to be increased in the presence of ‘set backs’. A ‘set back’, in architecture, refers to a step-like indent made into a building to fulfill structural, aesthetic or legal purposes. Set backs find their roots in ancient architecture where they were used to add height to structures by distributing weight. From pyramids in ancient Egypt to super-tall skyscrapers in modern New York, set backs have been used to shape buildings for centuries (NYC Planning).
The Zoning Regulated stated that the inclusion of a single set back in the building would allow the addition of a certain number of feet to its height. For example, in a one times district, for every set back included, the height of the building can be increased by two feet. Set backs in the skyscrapers of New York serve a dual purpose of both increasing the height of the building within zoning codes as well as allowing sunlight to color the streets (NYC.gov).
The inclusion of set backs in buildings to limit density and facilitate ventilation was guided by the ‘sky exposure plane’. The sky exposure plane is a virtual inclined plane starting from a certain height of the building. The building is not allowed to penetrate this plane in order to allow light and air to reach the street (NYC Planning).
In addition to this, there were certain exceptions to height districts. One of the most pertinent one to the development of innovative architecture in New York was the 25% rule. This exception stated that if a part of the building, above a certain height, only covers an aggregate of 25% of the lot, that portion can be built up to any height with some set backs (NYC.gov).
The 1916 Zoning Codes used height districts, set backs and sky exposure planes to solve the problem of light and air in the streets of New York. In the wake of this newly announced zoning code, architect Harvey Wiley Corbett and draftsman Hugh Ferris created a series of drawings in 1922. These five sketches portrayed the effect of the new zoning on architecture. Stage one showed a model with maximum volume. Stage two edited the model to allow light and air into the streets. Stage three included set backs to address structural limitations. Stage four combined the previous stages to make the model both economical and functional. Finally, stage five showed how an actual building of this design would look. These new architecturally innovative designs of the ‘setback skyscraper’ inspired architects of the day and ushered in the Art Deco Era in New York.
Architects allowed their imagination and innovative skills to run wild and create buildings with rectangular forms arranged in geometric patterns with stepped outlines. These new ziggurat skyscrapers were sprinkled with decorative components such as chevrons and other geometrical designs. These buildings were created with materials as commonplace as concrete, steel and stone but also terra-cotta and stucco (Phmc.state.pa.us). As Hugh Ferris wrote in Subway City, “The day of the box is ended. We are not contemplating the new architecture of a city- we are contemplating the new architecture of a civilization” (Brooks, 112). The creative Art Deco era post 1916 zoning saw the creation of marvelous buildings such as the Chrysler Building and the Barclay-Vesey Building.
The historical Chrysler Building, located on 405 Lexington Avenue, New York, serves as the poster child of the Art Deco era in New York. The office building, designed by William van Alen, was completed in 1930 in compliance with the recently placed zoning rules. The building is made with hand-laid brick and steel. Its famous spire has seven gradual set backs and is decorated with a starburst pattern and gargoyles. The skyscraper has three set backs on the 16th, 23rd and 30th floors ( Skyscraper.org). The main shaft, covering only 25% of the lot size, was allowed to be 68 floors high (Young, 2011). Since the steel building was constructed using set backs and the 25% rule, it was in line with the objective to allow light and air onto the streets below it.
Equally important is the Barclay-Vesey Building. The buff brick Art Deco magnificence was designed by Ralph Walker and completed construction in 1927 (Skyscraperguide.org). Its intricate limestone carvings balance the highly pronounced set back steps. The building lies on an oddly shaped trapezoid lot, with the irregular set backs allowing light and air to seep to the streets. The building’s bold shape makes it a drama presence in New York’s famous skyline.
New York’s successful 1916 zoning regulation paved the way for the creation of zoning laws across America. Without these codes, New York would be a grid of canyons, with dingy and suffocating streets. The Art Deco ‘Wedding Cake’ skyscrapers, perpetrated by first zoning regulation, dotted the New York skyline with their ziggurat structures. New Zoning laws implemented since 1916 have changed the layout of the city in previous years to create present-day New York. Zoning continues to remain one of the most powerful tools that shape the urban landscape to alter and create cities, in all their grit and glory.