Frank Lloyd Wright's design for a Usonian high-rise on the Bowery featured rotated open floor plans to provide living space variation.
Frank Lloyd Wright is not particularly well-known for his designs of urban dwellings, let alone high-rises.
If it weren't for the Great Depression, however, three FLW-designed glass towers in New York City's East Village would jut above the uniformly low-rise blocks of the neighborhood, anchoring the historic St. Mark's Church on the Bowery today.
In keeping with Wright's Usonian vision, the towers were designed like trees, each with a central "trunk" or structural core supporting open plan concrete floor plates. A curtain wall exterior, a triangular site and the absence of other nearby tall structures allowed plenty of light to enter the buildings. Wright had planned a two-story penthouse for himself atop one of the towers.
His design was implemented in Bartlesville, OK
Read the full story: Frank Lloyd Wright's 1930 Plans for Glassy East Village Towers
Wright-Designed Showroom Demolished in NYC Landmarks End-Around
A courtesy phone call from the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission to the owners of a luxury-car showroom designed by Frank Lloyd Wright was seemingly all it took to persuade them to demolish the historic interior.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
NYC votes to cut outdoor dining red tape, speed up permitting
New York City also voted to allow the Department of Transportation to begin work on urgent projects before notifying elected officials.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax survives legal challenge
A panel of judges found that the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate injury as a result of New York City's implementation of the tax.
Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity
Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.
Seattle passes record-breaking transit services expansion
Proposition 1 will double the city’s transit tax to add 95,000 more bus trips and preserve 180,000 bus trips annually.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority