Scaling the Threshold: When Community Architecture Becomes Too Large
Discover the balance of scale and intimacy in urban architecture. When Hudson Yards opened in Manhattan in 2019, it promised a new urban neighborhood built from scratch, with 16 towers and 4,000 residential units.
Despite its lavish amenities and lofty public plazas, a peculiar emptiness persisted, speaking to a fundamental truth about human social capacity. Where architectural ambition outpaces human cognitive limits, the potential for intimacy collapses.
The traditional Japanese concept of roji - the in-between spaces that act as transitional zones for users to form communal bonds - worked brilliantly at small scales, but the reality of large-scale developments proved stubborn.
architectural ambition outpaces human cognitive limits, the potential for intimacy collapses
Author's summary: Balance of scale and intimacy in urban architecture is crucial.
- Hudson Yards: 16 towers, 4,000 residential units
- Traditional Japanese concept: roji