The resulting street corners are an unbeatable advantage of perimeter block development. "Just round the corner" is proverbial for a quick errand. You go round the corner to the dry cleaners, the photocopier, the hairdresser, the baker and so on. Even for taxis, the name "Türckenstraße, corner of Adalbertstraße" is a sufficiently precise description of the destination.
These corners are not created in a row development because the row of houses is perpendicular to a street. They sit with their shoulder to the guest. The gable ends often don't even have proper windows, but are clad in fibre cement panels. If the street is busy, the noise penetrates between the rows of houses and echoes. Visitors first have to study the fire brigade map to realise that house number 58b) is the middle house in the third row. The path to the front door is neither public nor private, but is accompanied by the traffic noise of a road called something like "Ring". I've picked up so many Ebay classifieds in recent years that I recommend everyone try it for themselves.
How easy it is to find your way around the edge of the block! Each street has a name, the number plates go up or down, the even numbers are on one side, the odd numbers on the other. There may also be a rear building, which can be logically read from the doorbell sign. Fire brigade deployment plans are not a relevant source of information for passers-by.
The street corners provide orientation and create tension in the cityscape. Urban freehand sketchers therefore tend to choose a corner view of the subject rather than a frontal view. The Flat Iron Building in New York, for example, is always photographed from the corner, not in profile. The same applies to the Chile House in Hamburg. The Elbphilharmonie also creates tension because it has a wedge-shaped floor plan and the highest point at the top.
That's why the corner should be occupied at every junction. No gap should be left there, unless it goes into a car park. It's bad if there's a car park or garages there. What a wasted opportunity! As the corners can be seen from afar, they can also tolerate more height. The extra height also emphasises the perspective and makes the building mass look pyramidal. It's like doing a jigsaw puzzle. First you do the corners, then the edges, and the rest gradually emerges.
We can see how important corners are on the map of New York. Even those of us who have never been there know the street names - if only from the film. Example of three sights:
The Flat-Iron is located on the corner of 5th Avenue & Broadway.
The Empire State Building is located on the corner of 5th Avenue & 34th Street.
Grand Central Station is located on the corner of 42nd Street & Park Avenue.
Corners are also something special in Paris: almost every corner building has a café or bistro on the ground floor. Typical here are the red awnings, which are an additional attraction. The cafés of Paris have become a brand. Even a spice mix is called that. It consists of garlic, turmeric, paprika, coriander, sugar, cumin and cardamom, among other things. Stirred with crème fraîche, it is a great party sauce. It is slightly acidic, slightly sweet, contains essential oils and has a beautiful yellow colour.
Dear readers,
Today I am publishing my essay "Urban density through perimeter block development", which fits in with this topic. If you want to read the whole thing backed up with figures:
First published on Facebook on 28.02.2021
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