In previous posts I have set out our inherent need for contact with nature and the deficient arrangements with which the forces of urban development have attempted to meet this need in high-density urban areas. I would like now to propose one means of creating a closer tie between humanity and factors in our spiritual bond with the natural environment whose presence, whether near at hand or at a remote distance is felt by human beings only by their impact on our sense of sight, sound, taste, or smell. Accordingly I draw your attention to the architectural drawing below.
It is the ground floor plan of a high-rise apartment building complex conceived by the architectural firm of Praxis Architecture Inc. of Esquimalt, B.C. The striking feature of this ground floor plan is that it contains as an integral component of the high-rise residential structure, a built-in private park belonging to the residents in common.
The site of this architectural concept is located in the Corporation of the Township of Esquimalt, a local government authority whose area of jurisdiction lies in a fairly narrow strip along the eastern boundary of the City of Victoria, B.C. The property on which the design is based is privately owned. The owner, however, is unaware that it has served as the hypothetical site for this imaginative development concept. It was selected by the architects for this exercise because they are located in Esquimalt and familiar with its development potential, but are also aware that there are sites in the high-density area of any city which can be developed with a high-rise residential building of which a private park is an integral component.
For our present purposes it is only the ground floor of this hypothetical complex that is relevant. The architects who produced the ground floor plan also had in mind the residential component of the total project. They assumed an apartment structure rising some 14 stories above the ground floor with approximately 104 apartments. But that item like the ground floor design itself is part of the total imaginative concept that need not be dealt with specifically in the present paper since the purpose here is to examine the private park component of the concept. It is only the ground floor plan with its private park and other contents and the site on which the concept is located which are relevant here. However it should be noted that the complex would only function successfully if it were in condominium ownership.
The site on which this hypothetical complex is located is itself an interesting item. It is bounded on its east side by Admirals Road, and on its west side by Constance Avenue, but between these two traffic arteries its rocky contours drop about 12’ from its Admiral’s Road side on the east to Constance Avenue on the west.
The total area of the site is 12,000 square feet. Admiral’s Road is a bus route and one of the main arterial roads into and out of Esquimalt. Automobile access to the building however is only from Constance Avenue. Entry to the underground garage for vehicle parking is from the semi-circular drive off Constance Avenue. Access into the building is through two main doors – one on the east side giving entry from Admiral’s Road, the other on the west side giving entry from Constance Avenue.
The door on the Admiral’s Road
side opens into a large landscaped garden area or “atrium” which in effect is a
private park and is an integral component of the complex – the treatment of its
walls, the furniture, the plants and trees etc. would best be left to the management
committee (or a subcommittee) of the condo complex. The maintenance of the atrium is also a matter for the
resident-owners of the complex to manage and would probably be arranged with
the advice and assistance from professional sources.
The elevators up to the residential units are located near the centre of the atrium. If one is a resident of one of the units in the building, but is outside and approaching the building on foot from the Admiral’s Road side then he or she must have a key to that access door to gain entry into the building. That person must also have a separate key for the door to his or her dwelling, which would not be the same key as the one for the access door into the building. The key to the building access door from the Constance Avenue side is the same as the one for the building access door on the Admirals Road side. Clearly then each would have to have two keys – one for access into the building from either side, the other for access into his or her residential unit. This may seem at first glance to be an elaborate arrangement but it ensures that the atrium is in effect a private garden or park and is an integral part of the residential complex and is not available to the general public at large.
On the Constance Avenue side the 12’ drop in the gradient from its level on the Admiral’s Road side provides the vehicle entrance to the ramp which leads to the parking level. Pedestrian access to the building proper requires ascending an exterior staircase in order to reach the entry door to the building. On the way up this staircase one passes by an exterior landscaped roof garden shown shaded on the plan. The exterior landscaped garden area is directly accessible from the top of the exterior staircase but direct entry from the roof garden is not. Adjacent to the roof garden is a room in the interior of the building which abuts the roof garden. Access to the roof garden from inside the building is only one way - through the adjacent room whose door to the exterior only opens one way, outward to the exterior but not inward from the exterior. From the top of the exterior staircase one can gain entry into the building and proceed along the corridor to the elevators and the atrium.
Underlying the comfort and livability of an apartment dwelling in a tall residential structure are a number of factors. These include, among others, such items as the layout of the unit, the facilities available, the services and upkeep of both the building and the unit, etc. Some of the underlying factors are also related to the personality and preferences of the apartment residents. But generally speaking interpersonal communication among the residents of tall apartment buildings, in dense urban areas, is not as close or as frequent as it is among residents in single family dwellings in smaller rural communities.
The comparative infrequency of interpersonal contact among residents who live in dwellings so closely packed together is a puzzling phenomenon. Perhaps it is due to the fact that people are drawn together personally by forces other than the occupancy of neighbouring dwellings. Occasionally the same personal remoteness exists between the next-door-neighbours in single family dwellings. On the other hand it may be due to the fact that each resident’s concern over property matters ends at the property line but matters of personal interest lie beyond the property line and persons with compatible interests must be found elsewhere.
It may be that the concept of a ground floor private park – in which the identity of ownership of each individual apartment unit is erased and extended to the mutual ownership of the entire atrium - offers an environment in which the personal concern of the individual resident can find some basis of mutual interest among the co-owners of the atrium garden. Again, much will depend on the furnishings and the management of the property. But even if the extension of mutual interests isn’t fully achieved by the large attractive common private garden it would neverthe-less provide a very pleasant place to spend time away from the confines of the apartment in the broader ambience of a landscaped private park, perhaps even to discover mutual concern among some of the other resident - visitors to the park.
The total floor area of the ground floor is approximately 10,000 square feet. The area of the atrium is approximately 2,800 sq.ft. and that of the exterior roof garden is about 2,600 sq.ft. Taken together the combined area of the atrium and the roof garden is about 5,400 sq.ft. which is approximately half of the total ground floor area. All the dwelling units have exterior privacy areas, i.e. patios or balconies.
In addition to the possibility of finding new friends and better interpersonal relationships the atrium offers a park to the residents all year round and the roof garden offers that amenity during the seasons when weather is appropriate. The spiritual bond between the residents and the natural environment is thereby strengthened and maintained throughout the entire year and is a constant attribute of that specifically created residential–garden complex environment.
By Dr. Earl A. Levin
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