Compact
City Shape & Layout - Interior Dwellings
Exterior
Dwellings - The
Interior - The Core Area - Other
Areas - Housing
The city, in its first stage, has 8 levels that are spaced in excess of three conventional stories apart. The total city height (240 feet) is roughly the same as that of a conventional twenty-story apartment building, but the proposed use of the interior space in Compact City, as we shall see, is entirely different.
Physically, Compact City can be thought of as three-dimensional organic structure designed for convenient living for its inhabitants during the various stages of its development. The essential idea is that the city builds its own "land" instead of robbing nature. Various sized lots would be made available on different levels, on these lots one could build offices, plants, stores, schools, apartments, and houses very much like one would in a conventional city except that in Compact City, a more flexible construction could be used since the facilities are protected from the weather. On the lots, one could build homes in various styles and the remaining open space could be used for patios and interior gardens. As an average, a lot 60 feet wide and 100 feet deep could be used.
The choice of 30 or more foot separations between levels is not necessary. From our observations of lobbies, shopping malls, and protected garden areas with high ceilings, when ceilings are higher than 25 feet and light in colour, one enjoys a pleasant feeling of spaciousness, the same feelings as being in open space. This could easily eliminate the undesirable "Tunnel Effect" which constricted space creates. It is also a good way to eliminate noise pollution as the noises created are easily dispersed. An example is the Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., designed by Eero Saarinen, which, having a suspended acoustical ceiling 30 feet above a base area of approximately 600-by-75 feet. In spite of the length of the terminal building, one have a feeling of spaciousness. Even during busy time, where there are many hundreds of people moving about talking and greeting each other, the noise pollution is virtually zero.