Financing Architecture

Abstract

Financing Architecture: How The Urban Fabric of Manhattan Has Been Shaped by Money investigates the urban fabric of Manhattan, from single building case studies to larger scale urban planning developments, through the lens of money. The thesis introduces Manhattan’s grid layout, a result of the Commissioner’s Plan of 1811, its purpose being that of establishing the historical framework as well as actual urban design framework in which the rest of the analyzed buildings sit in. Moving on from the city-wide scale, the scope of the thesis narrows down to the neighborhood scale, exploring how developments such as the Grand Central Terminal are the result of newfound forces driving the design of architecture in modern times and how these same developments have effects which ripple around their surroundings. A transition is then made towards the study of skyscrapers, detailing how zoning laws have impacted their design and why those same laws were put in place. Finally, the thesis reaches its apex by tackling the symbolism of the 432 Park Avenue needle skyscraper, a building which plays a more important role in the trading market, rather than in the sheltering sphere, something which signals an entirely new way of understanding this type of expensive architecture. Ultimately, by constantly shifting the scale of focus, as well as addressing architectural projects of varying typologies and urban functions, this thesis hopes to emphasize that Manhattan is a product of a design motivated by finances, a far cry from more historically established cities such as London or Paris.