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Title: The "Sky Neighborhood" Layout

Authors: Mazlin Ghazali, Principal, Arkitek M. Ghazali

Mohd. Peter Davis, Biochemist, Arkitek M. Ghazali
Anniz Bajunid, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies

Subjects: Architectural/Design
Sustainability/Green/Energy

Keywords: Residential
Sky Garden
Social Interaction

Publication Date: 2014

Original Publication: CTBUH Journal, 2014 Issue II

Paper Type: 1. Book chapter/Part chapter

2. Journal paper
3. Conference proceeding
4. Unpublished conference paper
5. Magazine article
6. Unpublished

© Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat / Mazlin Ghazali; Mohd. Peter Davis; Anniz Bajunid
Architecture/Design

The “Sky Neighborhood” Layout

Over the last 50 years, many researchers have concluded that high-rise
apartments by and large are not suitable for children and young families.
Creating small neighborhoods by way of sky courts can be a step toward
solving this intractable problem. We attempt to demonstrate that a prototype
design, whereby sky courts are provided to all units, with a minimal loss of
saleable area due to circulation. This study compares the residential portion of
Mazlin Ghazali Anniz Bajunid this new concept against other types of apartment layouts, including single-
loaded balcony corridor access, with double-loaded central corridor access,
central-lobby tower blocks, and “scissor” style internal and external corridors.

Background and laments them as “weird, anonymous

space… neither public nor private.”
Subsidized and affordable high-rise housing
has plenty of critics. Cappon wrote: “Young Indeed, high-rise housing necessitates
Mohd. Peter Davis children in a high-rise are much more socially providing access from the building entrance
deprived of neighborhood peers and activities at street level to the front door of every
Authors
than their single-family-dwelling counterparts; apartment on the upper levels of the
Mazlin Ghazali, Principal
hence, they are poorly socialized and at too buildings. Elevators, staircases, lobbies, and
Mohd. Peter Davis
Arkitek M. Ghazali close quarters to adults, who are tense and corridors provide passage to individual
19-1, Jalan 1/76, Desa Pandan
irritable as a consequence” (Cappon 1972). apartment units.
55100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
t: +60 12 221 1652, f: +60 3 9281 1140
e: [email protected]
A more even-tempered Gifford, in a 2007 And so it is that conventional high-rise
www.tslr.net
review of 129 high-rise research papers over 56 apartment layouts are often categorized by
Anniz Bajunid, Senior Lecturer
years on the human experience of tall the method of access to each apartment – for
Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) buildings, concluded that: example, single- or double-loaded corridors
40450 Shah Alam, Selangor D.E., Malaysia
for slab blocks, and central lobbies for tower
t: +60 3 5521 1553, f: +60 3 5544 4353
e: [email protected] ƒƒ Most people living in high-rise housing blocks. However, all these alternatives involve
http://fspu.uitm.edu.my/cebs/
found it less satisfactory than other housing spaces such as lobbies, elevators, and
forms corridors that are not only costly, but are not
Mazlin Ghazali set up Arkitek M. Ghazali in 1993. ƒƒ Social relations in high-rise housing were considered saleable space. To save costs,
Since 2000 this firm has built up nearly 12,000 units
of affordable housing projects, many using system more impersonal, and residents were less these areas are largely devoid of plant life,
construction methods. Mazlin has also collaborated likely to help each other than in other unsuitable for children’s outdoor play, and
with his co-authors in thermal comfort and courtyard-
based housing layouts which has yielded patents housing forms usually used by residents who remain
for the key aspects of that work. He is now working ƒƒ Crime and fear of crime was greater strangers to each other.
on commercializing the new “Sky Neighborhoods”
concept providing cost efficient courtyards to high-rise ƒƒ Living in high-rises may independently
apartments. account for some suicides
Anniz Bajunid is trained as an architect with The “Sky Neighborhood” Concept
experience in Malaysia, United States, United Kingdom, However, on the issue of raising children, he
and Japan. He is presently a senior lecturer and a PhD
candidate at Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. His was trenchant: “…Numerous studies suggest This paper proposes the “Sky Neighborhood”
current research pursuits are in understanding the that children have problems in high-rises; none concept as a new kind of arrangement,
social and physical dynamics of tessellation planning,
particularly the environment-behavior of cul-de-sac suggest benefits for them.” (Gifford 2007). Even whereby access to each unit is through
courtyard micro-neighborhoods. 30 years earlier, Conway concluded that for “… six-story-high landscaped courtyards. In this
Mohd Peter Davis is a biochemist from UK. He was a families with small children, the evidence way, corridors can be eliminated, and as such,
lecturer and researcher in modern sheep production demonstrates that high-rise living is an not only can the social and environmental
in Malaysia. Struck by the absurdity that sheep in
barns were living more comfortably than humans in unsuitable form of accommodation.” (Conway quality of intermediate spaces in high-rise
Malaysian terrace houses, he changed his research & Adams 1977). Dalziel suggests that the housing be improved; the cost of construct-
direction to design and build cool, affordable IBS
houses on campus which led to his collaboration with defects of high-rise housing spring mainly from ing unsaleable circulation space might be
his co-authors – Mazlin Ghazali and Anniz Bajunid. the quality of the spaces between the street reduced. Through a comparison with a
and the apartment – the “intermediate spaces,” selection of other types of high-rise housing
layouts, its aim is to demonstrate that, indeed,

40 | Architecture/Design CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue II

 EAST
Escape Six-story

“
staircase courtyard

TH
The basic module in this
NORTH

PA
N
SU
layout comprises two double-
story apartments, which occupy
Escape

Six stories of
staircase
three floors, one placed on top
apartments
around
courtyard
of the other, such that access to
both apartment units is on the
Lift lobby &
fire staircase

courtyard level, with the first

Six stories of
apartments unit connected to another floor
below the courtyard level, and
around
courtyard

the second joined to another

WEST
Six-story Escape floor above the courtyard

”
courtyard staircase
SOUTH

Figure 1. Sky Neighborhoods apartment layout.

level.
circulation space can be minimized, even as one level removed from it. Four or more pairs Figure 2). However, stacking these apartments
communal space is maximized. of these apartment units are arranged around on top of each other, such that the courtyards
and accessed directly from each courtyard. flip from one side to the opposite side,
In the next section, a detailed introduction to Elevators are suitably located off one or more produces a six-story high courtyard (see
the “Sky Neighborhood” concept illustrates of the courtyards, providing access to the Figure 3).
how duplex apartments can be arranged to courtyards and the adjacent units (see Figure
create six-story courtyards with access to all 1). Escape staircases are located where
apartment units. The section also presents necessary, and the dimension and layout of
the case for the “Sky Neighborhood” as an the structure allows lower-level car-parking
improvement to conventional types of facilities to be provided efficiently.
apartment layouts and as a cost-reducer of
key aspects of high-rise housing. The basic module in this layout comprises
two double-story apartments, which occupy
We then explain the methodology of the three floors, one placed on top of the other,
study of the circulation space in the “Sky such that access to both apartment units is on
Neighborhood” model, as compared with the courtyard level, with the first unit
other examples of apartment layouts. This is connected to another floor below the
followed by results and discussions, and courtyard level, and the second joined to
6 story

concluding remarks in the final section. another floor above the courtyard level (see

Introduction to the “Sky Neighborhoods”

Apartment Layout Concept
This concept presents the idea of multistory
housing with apartments grouped around
large covered courtyards, six stories high,
which have one side open to the exterior.
Typically, two-story apartments are stacked
one on top of the other, such that each
apartment unit is either on the access level or Figure 2. Basic interlocking apartment module. Figure 3. Basic apartment module stacked to create a
six-story-high courtyard.

CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue II Architecture/Design | 41

 % circulation and % sellable apartment Units accessed
Type of Apartment
Example services on each built up area each on each access Circulation spaces – corridors, stairs, elevators,
Access
access floor access floor floor lobbies, etc. – are minimized to less than any
External corridor or 413, Woodlands Drive 4, existing type of apartment. Indeed, in the
18.80% 81.20% 6
balcony access Singapore
design prototype presented here, there are no
Central corridor Binapuri, Selangor, Malaysia 16.03% 83.97% 8
corridors. The communal courtyard and
Central corridor Dataran Mantin, Mantin, Malaysia 14.06% 85.94% 23 circulation spaces, including the elevator
External scissors lobbies and staircases, occupy less than 5% of
Robin Hood Gardens, London 12.58% 87.42% 39
corridor the total built-up area on the residential floors
Central lobby Blues Point Tower, Sydney 11.90% 88.10% 7 (see Table 1).
Internal scissors
Unite d’Habitation, Marseilles 8.12% 91.88% 58
corridor The elevators only need to stop at every third
80.82% floor, thus reducing elevator waiting times,
Affordable “Sky Circulation and services 5.10%
internal
Neighborhood” 13.49% 86.51% 36 elevator provision, and associated costs. In this
concept example 5.69%
Public portion of courtyard green 8.39%
front yard example, only two elevators (with 13 elevator
Table 1. Comparison of the efficiency of the corridors and lifts between different types of apartment layout. stops) are provided. However, to cater to larger
numbers of residents, the passenger elevators
Social and Environmental Benefits communal courtyard makes it easy for are large enough to double as service elevators,
The courtyards – six stories high, open to the neighbors to get to know each other. Children suitable for stretchers and the transport of
sun and air on one side – are suitable for can play in the courtyards under the watchful large furniture. This cost-saving feature
planting medium-sized trees, shrubs, and eyes of their parents and neighbors (see becomes even more prominent when
grass, making them more attractive for social Figure 4). compared to supertall buildings, which
and recreational use. In equatorial Malaysia, typically require two separate banks of
the location of the test case, the blocks are Potential for Reducing Cost elevators. For example, Singapore’s Pinnacle@
best aligned north, south, east, and west, such Perhaps the most important cost feature is Duxton is a 50-story building that has a set of
that all the four courtyards can get sunlight that, unlike conventional sky courts or sky elevators servicing floors 1 to 25, and another
(see Figure 1). This design thus admits plenty terraces, the courtyards in the “sky set for the 26th to the 50th floor.
of light and ventilation but provides cover neighborhoods” layout are not located in
from direct rainfall. such a way that potential saleable or rentable In case of fire, smoke – a major cause of
floor space is sacrificed. Thus, there is no loss fatalities – is easily dissipated from the
Each courtyard will have a communal of potential revenue. courtyards, which form an important part of
semi-private space shared by residents who the escape route. Because apartments open to
live in the apartments around it. In addition, in Apart from this opportunity-cost advantage, a well-ventilated access route, according to
front of most of the apartments will be a there are potential cost savings resulting from Malaysian fire protection rules, the apartment
front-yard garden that can act as a buffer the omission of corridor space, a reduction in entrance doors need not be fire doors. In
between the common space outside and the the number of required elevators, and the addition, the courtyards can be seen as safety
private domain inside. This arrangement of omission of fire doors to each apartment. platforms: every apartment is at most two
small groups of apartments surrounding a stories above one of these platforms. This
makes escape and firefighting easier.

It is true that the construction of the courtyard

structure and the provision of the soft and hard
landscape will add substantial cost, but the
courtyard areas will gain features that aid the
selling of the garden-apartment units. The
front-yard garden can be allocated directly to
an individual apartment and may be counted
as built-up area (see Figure 5). The communal
courtyards can be marketed as an amenity at
the doorstep of every garden apartment.

Finally, it is argued that the courtyards alleviate

the sense of overcrowding that can be found in
affordable and mid-market, high-density
Figure 4. Six-story-high courtyard.

42 | Architecture/Design CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue II

 Side corridor or Single-loading corridor on one side of a row of Intermediate
30-STORY DESIGN PROTOTYPE Narrow-slab block
balcony apartments double aspect units

Double-loading corridor in the middle of two rows Intermediate single

Plot ratio 4.9 Central corridor Wide-slab block
of apartments aspect units

Apartments are directly accessed from the central

Density 163 units/acre Central Lobby Tower block Corner apartments
lobby

70% of plot area, 18 m2/ Alternate floor Single-loading corridor on one side of a row of two- Double aspect
Communal courtyard Narrow-slab block
unit (194.6 sf/unit) corridors story apartments or maisonettes maisonettes

Communal courtyard and Double-loading corridor in the middle of two rows Double aspect
107% land area Scissors corridor Narrow-slab block
private front yard garden of two-double-story apartments or maisonettes maisonettes

Table 2. High plot ratio, high-density; more green area Table 3. Types of apartment layout.
is created than development land used.

high-rise housing. The high-density and plot are not common. The most
ratio of the design prototype would contribute famous example of the latter is
to savings on land cost (see Table 2). the Unite d’Habitation, designed
by Le Corbusier and built in
Marseilles and several other Privately
owned front
Methodology locations. A well-known example yard
of an apartment with alternate-
Comparing “Sky Neighborhood” Apartments floor corridors is Robin Hood
to Existing Apartment Layouts Gardens in London, designed by
The main goal of this study is to compare the Alison and Peter Smithson.
area-use efficiency of a design prototype of this
Communal
concept against other existing types of The remaining typologies are green area
apartments. To achieve this goal: ubiquitous. The plans of the two
double-loaded corridor
1. We analyze existing apartment building examples were taken from the
layouts. lead author’s architectural Figure 5. Courtyard arrangement.
2. We then break down apartment building practice. The sample of a
areas into different use categories for single-loaded corridor was taken
analysis. from the Singapore Housing Development ƒƒ There are two factors concerning
3. The same analysis is conducted against the Board. The floor plans were drawn based on circulation that were taken into account:
“Sky Neighborhood” design prototype information provided by the Board’s website. the first is the calculation of the circulation
example. This is a small set of examples with selections area, expressed as a percentage of the total
4. A comparison is then made between of the single-loaded and double-loaded built-up area of the relevant floor or floors.
existing apartment building types and the corridors, as well as the tower-block elevator- The lower the percentage, the more
affordable “Sky Neighborhood” example. lobby access, which was based on the efficient the layout.
author’s available resources. The authors were ƒƒ The second factor is the number of units
Conventional High-rise Apartment Design confident that, at this exploratory stage, the accessed by a single bank of elevators. The
All high-rise housing requires a solution for differences between the “Sky grouping of elevators has a significant
providing access from the street level public Neighborhoods” and these examples would effect on their efficient use. Placing
domain into the building, through elevators to be sufficient to enable preliminary elevators next to each other in one lobby is
the upper levels of the building, then from the conclusions. more efficient than having them spread
elevators to the individual apartments. out over different locations. Having many
High-rise apartment design can be classified In the analysis of the following examples, we units share a single bank of elevators is
according to the way the apartment units are look at the typical floor or floors that are more efficient than having fewer.
arranged and how access to each unit is accessed from a single corridor or lobby. The
provided (see Table 3). areas within the circulation spaces – including Single-loaded corridor
the elevator lobbies, public staircases, and In this type of apartment layout, the apart-
A collection of plans – one example from each corridors – and services were measured. The ments are all placed in a row on one side of a
of these existing types of apartments – was space taken up by voids, including the corridor, and which is open on the opposite
assembled. Apartment buildings with elevator cores, is excluded. side. The apartments can have windows
alternate-floor corridors and scissors corridors along the corridor, which are useful for natural

CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue II Architecture/Design | 43

light and ventilation, but obviously impinge single-loaded corridor example, serving loaded corridors (see Figure 8). Nevertheless,
on the privacy of the homes. The example apartments on both sides. However, the the ventilation and light from these air wells
given is the 413 Woodlands Drive 4 in apartments it serves can only have windows are inferior to windows on the external wall.
Singapore (see Figures 6 and 7). on the external wall. The apartments may
have internal air wells alongside the double- Central Lobby
Double-loaded/central corridors In the tower block, apartments are positioned
The central corridor is more efficient than the around a central elevator lobby. In this set-up,
there is a minimum of corridor space. On the
other hand, the number of units that can be
served by the single elevator lobby is limited.
Here, the efficient arrangement of circulation
space is offset by the rather inefficient sharing
of elevators by a small number of housing
units (see Figures 9 and 10).

Internal “Scissors” Corridor

The scissors corridor is an especially clever
innovation, first introduced by Le Corbusier in
Unite d’Habitation in Marseilles in 1952 (see
Figures 11 and 12). Here, internal double-
loading corridors serve two rows of
maisonettes opposite each other in an
interlocking arrangement. These corridors
– and the “skip-stop” elevators – are only
required to serve every three floors. The
percentage of floor space taken up by the
Figure 6. 413 Woodlands Drive 4, Singapore. central corridor is very low – only 8.12% – and
the elevators in this case need only stop on
one floor and skip the other two. That one
stop serves 58 units. This is an extremely
efficient layout, and is not more common
because the corridor in this type of layout is
rather long, narrow, and has virtually no
windows. Also, the apartment units are also
Figure 7. 413 Woodlands Drive 4, Singapore – Single-loaded corridor. designed to be long and narrow, with
bedrooms that hardly seem to accommodate
a double bed. Still, considerable ingenuity has
been applied to securing the efficient

“ The ‘Sky Neighborhoods’ concept can be deployment of circulation space and

elevators.
seen as a relocation of the spaces set aside for External “Scissors” Corridors
amenities and communal gardens to the front of In the 1970s, Alison and Peter Smithson
developed an improvement on the scissors-
each apartment. It can be argued that this is corridor layout concept by designing
single-loaded external corridors (see Figures
where apartment dwellers can most easily enjoy 13 and 14). Here, the quality of the access

the open space and communal amenity. It also corridor was much improved. The wide,
well-ventilated external- access corridors were
has the beneficial side effect that, in this promoted as “streets in the air.”

arrangement, corridors are eliminated.

”
44 | Architecture/Design CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue II
Figure 8. Dataran Mantin Apartments – Figure 11. Unite d’Habitation, Marseilles. © Greg Maxwell/CC BY-SA 2.5
Double-loaded/central corridors.

Results

Constructed-area Breakdown Comparison

To investigate the circulation space advantage
of the “Sky Neighborhoods” apartment, an
analysis of the constructed area of the
TYPICAL SECTION
30-story design prototype was undertaken.

Space usage was divided into five categories:

apartment interior, apartment exterior (the
front yard of the units), communal courtyard
area, circulation space (comprising corridors,
elevator lobby, and staircases), and services.
The tabulation below is that of a typical
courtyard and the three stories of apartments
accessed from it. The “internal area” of the
apartments is calculated across three stories.
The “garden” area is the front-yard green that TYPICAL PLANS
is found only on the courtyard level. The Figure 12. Unite d’Habitation, Marseilles – Internal “Scis-
Figure 9. Blues Point Tower, Sydney. “communal courtyard” is the landscaped area sor” Corridor. © Gunawan Wibisono/CC BY-SA 2.5
© Hpeterswald/CC-BY-SA-2.0
shared by the residents that is also used to
access the apartments. The “circulation” area
comprises the staircases over three floors and tall residential buildings. Even the “scissors”
the elevator lobby at the courtyard level. The corridor access of Unite d’Habitation – with its
services available include the refuse collection long, windowless central corridor, and narrow
center and service risers. apartment units – at 8.12% is less efficient
than the “Sky Neighborhood.” The
Table 1 shows that with the “Sky corresponding figures in Table 1 for other
Neighborhoods,” the circulation space layouts range from 11.9 to 18.8%.
occupies only 4.32% of the total floor area
served by the corridor. With service areas This substantial efficiency improvement is all
added in, the percentage for circulation plus the more remarkable, because it is achieved
services is only 5.1%. This is a remarkably low by making the apartment design more
figure. As shown in Table 1, it is substantially attractive, not less, and by extending the
Figure 10. Blues Point Tower, Sydney – Central lobby. more efficient than any previous design for benefits of a landscaped courtyard to every
Source: French 2008

CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue II Architecture/Design | 45

 area to another. On the other hand, any space
or room will have within it some circulation
space. For example, a living room contains
within it a portion that can be used to move
around, but by convention we simply call it
“the living room,” and when one measures
and displays its area, one doesn’t subtract
away the circulation space within that room.
In the same way, it is consistent with accepted
convention that one measures and displays
the courtyard area without deducting the
circulation space within it under a separate
category.

Further, circulation space is only one of several

factors that effectively reduce saleable space.
One can contend that the public portion of
the courtyard should be in the same category
Figure 13. Robin Hood Gardens, London. © Steve Cadman/CC-BY-SA-2.0
as circulation space, in the sense that it
reduces the net saleable area of apartments.
This is true enough. However, when we
compare the efficiency of the design in terms
of the percentage of total saleable built-up
area, the “Sky Neighborhoods” design
prototype is still quite good at 86.51%, slightly
less than that of Blues Point Tower (88.1%),
Robin Hood Gardens (87.42%), and Unite
d’Habitation (91.88%).

However, this is not a fair comparison. The

authors have only been analyzing the areas
Figure 14. Robin Hood Gardens, London – External scissors corridor. Source: French 2008 accessed from a typical corridor, which in
both the cases of Unite d’Habitation and the
apartment. Indeed, the introduction of the Discussion design prototype, involves only three floors. In
courtyard is the key. fact, the Unite d’Habitation is famously raised
The “Sky Neighborhoods” concept can be on pilotis, with an open deck on the ground
Most apartments will have some provision for seen as a relocation of the spaces set aside for floor, and a rooftop deck and swimming pool,
communal amenities and gardens; these have amenities and communal gardens to the front both of which serve as communal spaces.
conventionally been provided on the of each apartment. It can be argued that this This means that two out of 18 levels (11.11%) in
ground-floor deck or the grounds around the is where apartment dwellers can most easily this building have no saleable floor area. A Sky
building. They have also been provided on enjoy the open space and communal Neighborhoods apartment, designed without
the rooftops. As illustrated at the beginning of amenity. It also has the beneficial side effect communal amenities on the roof top and
this paper, the provision of these amenities, that, in this arrangement, corridors are with a minimum of communal provisions on
whether on the ground, in a sky court, or a eliminated. the ground floor, could prove to have a higher
landscaped open deck on an upper floor, not percentage of saleable area. This comparison
only incur additional construction cost, but It is possible to counter that the courtyard has not been formally conducted, but further
also represent an opportunity cost – the loss area, or a portion of it, should actually be study can easily settle this issue. This same
of space within the building envelope that counted as circulation space. However, doing argument also applies to Blues Point Tower
could otherwise be used to build even more so contrasts with conventional categorization and Robin Hood Gardens.
apartments or other saleable space. of circulation spaces on architectural plans.
The corridor is unequivocally categorized as a Apartments are conventionally designed as
mono-functional circulation space: its slab or tower blocks, where the maximum
purpose is to allow for movement from one width of the building is constrained by the

46 | Architecture/Design CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue II

need for the apartments to have windows to ƒƒ Make a more detailed comparison with a ƒƒ Consider the effects of limiting disabled
the open air. For this reason, if one wants to carefully selected group of comparators access by all units being two stories, with
increase the number of units, the easiest way that takes into account not only the internal stairs. 
to do so would be to increase the number of circulation space, but also the services, the
floors. However, the cost of construction spaces set aside as amenities, including sky Unless otherwise noted, all photography credits
increases disproportionately with the height courts, void decks, and communal facilities, in this paper are to Arkitek M. Ghazali
of the building. On the other hand, it is not as well as the internal and external saleable
easy to avoid increasing the height just by apartment area.
making the building wider. Air wells within References
the building that open to the sky have to be ƒƒ Investigate in detail if fewer elevators can CAPPON, D. 1972. “Mental Health and the High-rise.” Ekistics,
introduced to bring light and air into the be provided in a “Sky Neighborhood” 796(33): 192-195.

building interior, or else, the building plan is apartment building when compared to CONWAY, J. & ADAMS, B. 1977. “The Social Effects of Living
split with narrow recesses that do the same conventional apartment-building types. Off the Ground.” Habitat International, 2: 595–614.
thing. The large courtyards in “Sky Neighbor-
FRENCH, H. 2008. Key Urban Housing of the Twentieth
hood” apartments can be seen as a useful ƒƒ Qualitatively and quantitatively compare Century: Plans, Sections, and Elevations. New York: W. W.
and attractive spatial device to bring in light the “Sky Neighborhood” concept with the Norton & Co.
and air into the interior of an apartment more recent innovations in apartment
GIFFORD, R. 2007. “The Consequences of Living in High-Rise
building. layout design, especially those from Buildings.” Architectural Science Review, 50(1): 2–17.
Singapore that have included “Sky-rise
The provision of the spacious sky courts, large greenery” on the upper levels of high-rise, POMEROY, P. 2009. ”The Skycourt – A Comparison of Four
Case Studies in the Context of the Corporatized Square and
elevator cabins, and tall elevator lobby high-density housing. Arcade.” CTBUH Journal 2009 Issue I: 28–36.
ceilings should help overcome the sense of
crowding that is perceived in conventional
high-rise housing.

Conclusion

The “Sky Neighborhood”concept, in providing

a six-story-high courtyard in front of every
duplex apartment, while using that courtyard
as communal open space adjoining privately
owned gardens, aims to ameliorate the social
defects of high-rise, high-density housing. At
the same time, by using the courtyards to
provide access to each home, construction
cost is lowered through reduced circulation
spaces and elevators (see Figure 15).

This study has found that a “Sky

Neighborhood” design uses substantially less
circulation space when compared to six other
types of apartments. Indeed, it can be said
that in the “Sky Neighborhood” model,
corridors were eliminated and replaced with
courtyards.

However, the study of the “Sky

Neighborhood” concept can still be
considered to be at a preliminary stage, as
there are many other aspects that need to be
thoroughly examined. For example:

Figure 15. View of “Sky Neighborhoods” tower.

CTBUH Journal | 2014 Issue II Architecture/Design | 47