Mechanical Voids

Manhattan

Judge Throws Out Plans for New Residential Skyscraper on Manhattan's Upper West Side

A residential skyscraper proposed for Manhattan's Upper West Side included a mechanical void that predated new rules in the city prohibiting the height-enhancing building practice. A judge still rejected the project as planned.

October 1, 2020 - Gothamist

111 West 57th St

Regulations on 'Mechanical Voids' in Luxury Residential Towers Coming Soon to NYC

The city is responding to controversies surrounding building practices that boost heights of luxury residential towers, while leaving big sections of the buildings empty.

January 24, 2019 - Crain's New York Business

Skinny Skyscraper

Regulating the Deliberate Emptiness of New York's Skyscrapers

Mechanical voids or stilts—whatever you call the trick of architecture that has been pressing the residential skyline in New York ever higher, the city is ready to regulate.

June 29, 2018 - Crain's New York Business

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.

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