Hating on Hallways?

Prompted by NYRA’s Nicolas Kemper over whether to “cancel” the double-loaded corridor, architects, developers, and researchers convened in person and on Zoom to discuss alternative housing paradigms.

Larch Lab’s Michael Eliason highlighted the example of a European “point access block” model, rarely permissible under U.S. building codes, in which apartments clustered around a single-access stair accommodate diverse floor plans and energy-efficient cross-ventilation. SO-IL’s Florian Idenburg described his work designing housing with outdoor circulation, whether as part of a low-cost development in Leon, Mexico, or within the recently completed 450 Warren Street condominium in Brooklyn, where in-person portions of the event were held, limited in attendance by the occupancy of its top-floor unit.

A consensus emerged that corridors could be positively reimagined; moderator Vivian Loftness summarized that “this crowd wants to celebrate the corridor, not cancel it.” Similarly, the 450 Warren Street developer, Sam Alison-Mayne of Tankhouse, marketed the building’s open-air …