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A setback, in the specific sense of a step-back, is a step-like form of a wall or other building frontage, also termed a recession or recessed story. Step-backs lower the building's
center of mass In physics, the center of mass of a distribution of mass in space (sometimes referred to as the barycenter or balance point) is the unique point at any given time where the weight function, weighted relative position (vector), position of the d ...
, making it more stable. A setback as a minimum one-bay indent across all stories is called a recessed bay or recess and is the more common exterior form of an alcove. Upper stories forming a step-back may form a belvedere – and in residential use are considered the penthouse. If part of the roof, then they are a
loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...
or
attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building. It is also known as a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because they fill the space between the ceiling of a building's t ...
/ garret.


History

Setbacks were used by people to increase the height of
masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...
structures by distributing gravity loads produced by building materials such as clay, stone, or brick. This was achieved by regularly reducing the footprint of each level located successively farther from the ground. Setbacks also allowed the natural erosion to occur without compromising the structural integrity of the building. The most prominent example of a setback technique is the step pyramids of
Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...
and
Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
, such as the Teppe Sialk ziggurat or the Pyramid of Djoser. For centuries, setbacks were a structural necessity for virtually all multi-level load-bearing
masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...
buildings and structures. As
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
s learned how to turn setbacks into an architectural feature, most setbacks were however less pronounced than in step pyramids and often skillfully masked by rich ornamentation. The introduction of a
steel frame Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. The develop ...
structural system in the late 19th century eliminated the need for structural setbacks. The use of a frame building technology combined with conveniences such as elevators and motorized water pumps influenced the physical growth and density of buildings in large cities. Driven by the desire to maximize the usable floor area, some developers avoided the use of setbacks, creating in many instances a range of fire safety and health hazards. Thus, the 38-story Equitable Building, constructed in New York in 1915, produced a huge shadow, said to "cast a noonday shadow four blocks long", which effectively deprived neighboring properties of sunlight. It resulted in the 1916 Zoning Resolution, which gave New York City's skyscrapers their typical setbacks and soaring designs.


Setbacks and urban planning

Today many
jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...
s rely on
urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...
regulations, such as zoning ordinances, which use setbacks to make sure that streets and yards are provided more open space and adequate light and air. For example, in high density districts, such as
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
in New York, front walls of buildings at the street line may be limited to a specified height or number of stories. This height is also called base height. Above that height, the buildings are required to set back behind a theoretical inclined plane, called ''sky exposure plane'', which cannot be penetrated by the building's exterior wall. For the same reason, setbacks may also be used in lower density districts to limit the height of perimeter walls above which a building must have a pitched roof or be set back before rising to the permitted height. In many cities, building setbacks add value to the interior real estate adjacent to the setback by creating usable exterior spaces. These setback terraces are prized for the access they provide to fresh air,
skyline A skyline is the wikt:outline, outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural area, rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the ...
views, and recreational uses such as gardening and outdoor dining. In addition, setbacks promote fire safety by spacing buildings and their protruding parts away from each other and allow for passage of firefighting apparatus between buildings. In the United States, setback requirements vary among
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
. For example, the absence of sky exposure plane provisions in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
's Zoning Code makes the Chicago skyline quite different from the skyline of New York where construction of tall buildings was guided by the zoning ordinance since 1916. The New York City Zoning Ordinance also provided another kind of setback guideline, one that was intended to increase the amount of public space in the city. This was achieved by increasing the minimum setback at street level, creating in each instance an open space, often referred to as plaza, in front of the building. File:Empire State Building from the Top of the Rock.jpg, Increasing setbacks make the
Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...
in New York taper with height. File:Malloch Building.jpg, alt=A white and silver building built with curved corners and streamlined features, stepped back along the slope of a hill., The Malloch Building in San Francisco is stepped back along the contour of the steep side of Telegraph Hill. File:New York Daily News building 1930.jpg, New York's Daily News Building features a number of setbacks. It was designed by architect Raymond Hood in 1929. The 1916 Zoning Resolution of New York led to many soaring, setbacked towers.


See also

* Height of Buildings Act of 1910 (Washington DC) * Urban canyon


References


Further reading

*Alexander, Christopher. ''A Pattern Language''. Oxford University Press, 1977. * Koolhaas, Rem. '' Delirious New York''. Monacceli Press, reprint 1997.


External links


NYC Zoning History
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