Building Types
Centuries of experience have
told us that certain types of buildings work well in walkable communities by promoting the
goals of density, mixed use and safety, and working together to form a continuous urban
fabric. Although there are certain building types which diminish walkability, for example
drive-through restaurants and monolithic office blocks, there are many examples of
buildings which shouldn't work in walkable environments, but somehow do, such as the
Pompidou Center in Paris, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The variety of building
types compatible with a walkable environment is infinite, therefore I will not attempt to
describe them all. My aim is to give examples of common building types which can be found
in many walkable communities.
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Row Houses: Known in
the U.K. as terraced houses, these are houses of two to four stories which abutt
buildings on either side. Row houses nearly always have a back yard, and usually a small
front yard, porch or stoop. They are an incredibly efficient land use: the overall density
of two-story row house neighborhoods often exceeds that of multi-story apartment
complexes, where residents do not have back yards! |
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Detached Houses: Detached
houses are not a suburban phenomenon: they existed long before cars. Detached houses in
walkable areas make efficient use of land by being oriented vertically rather than
horizontally, and being placed at the front of the lot rather than the middle. |
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Apartment buildings:
The best designs have entrances and stairwells shared by a small number of residents,
rather than long corridors, and have a variety of apartments from efficiencies to
penthouses. |
Apartment
Buidlings, such as this one in State College, PA, can be designed to fit in comfortably
with residential neighborhoods.
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- Rooms above shops: Small shops in walkable communities are generally on
the ground floor of buildings, often converted row houses. The upper floors can be used
for small apartments or efficiencies, doctors' offices, even art studios. Shop owners
often reduce costs by living above their shop, or supplement their income by renting this
space out.
- Department stores: These are an exception to the rule that only ground
floors can be used for retail. Large department stores such as Selfridges in London are
purpose-built, with up to eight floors of retail. Like smaller shops, department stores
are not set back from the sidewalk.
- Office buildings: Office buildings are purpose-built to accommodate the
workings of large companies and are generally open-plan. The number of stories an office
building can have is limited only by technology, but skyscrapers, esepcially in large
numbers, tend to block light from streets, and overload transportation facilities. The
ground floor of office buildings can address the street by providing retail space, or an
entrance/lobby area that is clearly visible from outside.
