Great work. I was in Barcelona last year and it was covered in courtyard blocks. Like most European cities, building mutli-family there is easier and less regulated than building single family - the opposite of the U.S. It would be great to do a rundown of all our laws and regulations preventing these things from being built in the U.S.
Yes agree. I think that, with variances for zoning and height and setbacks, these are legal in the US. The problem is mainly that they are economically irrational for most developers due to onerous requirements pertaining to setback, height, elevator cabin size and installation, condo liability laws,, sprinklers, etc.
Brilliant breakdown of a concept that's been missing from so many housing debates. The detail about central stair cores preserving humane scale while achieving denisty is undersold here. I've noticed in older European apartments how much that verticl circulation pattern changes the feel compared to long corridors. The math just makes sense but its hard to get that across to zoning boards.
Yes, I want to create more isometric drawings and content that explains the central stair more. It's SO important to what makes small multifamily buildings "live like a house" and not like a hotel room.
Another bonus is less waste since residents share the costs of the amenities, the playground structure, some toys, and their maintenance vs the duplication of similar things in every suburban backyard. This leaves more time and money to the families leaving in a courtyard block.
Would love a white paper or book to be published about this. Here are some more questions: what does a standard courtyard block structure pro forma look like and how does that compare to traditional type V over I construction as well as SFHs? How does shared ownership of the courtyard work? What are the ideal block sizes that can comfortably fit a courtyard block? Can this typology be combined with other efforts like cohousing, housing cooperatives, land trusts, and the like? What are the specific regulatory and industry blockages that need to be removed in order to build like this in more places? What happens with programming in the courtyard, maintenance, and more...
There are so many topics to think about when it comes to courtyard urbanism and how to make it succeed in the US.
Would love a write up on courtyard blocks on non-grid or semi-grid road layouts to sell the concept in my own city!
Thanks! Great idea! Will work on that
Great work. I was in Barcelona last year and it was covered in courtyard blocks. Like most European cities, building mutli-family there is easier and less regulated than building single family - the opposite of the U.S. It would be great to do a rundown of all our laws and regulations preventing these things from being built in the U.S.
Yes agree. I think that, with variances for zoning and height and setbacks, these are legal in the US. The problem is mainly that they are economically irrational for most developers due to onerous requirements pertaining to setback, height, elevator cabin size and installation, condo liability laws,, sprinklers, etc.
Brilliant breakdown of a concept that's been missing from so many housing debates. The detail about central stair cores preserving humane scale while achieving denisty is undersold here. I've noticed in older European apartments how much that verticl circulation pattern changes the feel compared to long corridors. The math just makes sense but its hard to get that across to zoning boards.
Yes, I want to create more isometric drawings and content that explains the central stair more. It's SO important to what makes small multifamily buildings "live like a house" and not like a hotel room.
Another bonus is less waste since residents share the costs of the amenities, the playground structure, some toys, and their maintenance vs the duplication of similar things in every suburban backyard. This leaves more time and money to the families leaving in a courtyard block.
Would love a white paper or book to be published about this. Here are some more questions: what does a standard courtyard block structure pro forma look like and how does that compare to traditional type V over I construction as well as SFHs? How does shared ownership of the courtyard work? What are the ideal block sizes that can comfortably fit a courtyard block? Can this typology be combined with other efforts like cohousing, housing cooperatives, land trusts, and the like? What are the specific regulatory and industry blockages that need to be removed in order to build like this in more places? What happens with programming in the courtyard, maintenance, and more...
There are so many topics to think about when it comes to courtyard urbanism and how to make it succeed in the US.