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Office of Urban Regulation

Design Rules and Design With Rules!

Cities as cultural products are neither ‘built’ nor ‘planned,’ at best they are guided and steered in a certain direction. Therefore, rules and regulations are one of the few tools that are actually suitable to guide future development within such collective and complex urban settings.

We strongly believe that the field of (urban) design should not simply adhere to these standards as some neutrally existing context but should actively engage in discussing them in order to make them subject to design as well. read more

Office for urban regulation

Bulky Block Type

New York

Economic pressures compel the utilization of a given building lot all the way to applicable legal limits. These limits then determine the building’s form. If a building is constructed which, despite all restrictions, fails to have the desired appearance, then the city has the authority to determine the proportions / shape of its volumetry by means of additional regulations. The utilization coefficient, however, remains constant.

  • 400 Park Avenue Building, New York.
  • 200 East 42nd Street Building, New York, 1959.
  • 260 Madison Avenue Building, New York, 1952.

Rule category

Motivation
Managing Bulk: basic stipulations regarding the object's form and bulk
The Kind of Rule
Rule that works as reference, ratio, or dependency.
Rule that is NOT related to any preconceived zone or area.
Rule that stipulates an upper limit.
Domain
Rule with direct impact on architectural or urban form.
Rule that regulates building heights.
Scale
Plot/Block Rule: Rule that relates to the scale of a city block or plot.