Setbacks on the Pyramid of Djoser.

Setbacks obscured by baroque decoration.

A building setback may mean one of two things: Image File history File links Egypt. ... Image File history File links Egypt. ... The Step Pyramid The Step Pyramid The Pyramid of Djoser was built for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by his Vizier Imhotep. ... Image File history File links Syracuse_dome_Sicily. ... Image File history File links Syracuse_dome_Sicily. ... For the Baroque style in a more general sense, see Baroque. ...

• A step-like recession in a wall or
• The minimum distance (in plan) by which a building must be separated from the lot line.

The front line of the building, which determines the location of the building with respect to the lot line, is called a building setback line. A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. ... Building is either the act of creating an object assembled from more than one element, or the object itself; see also construction. ...

Setbacks were used by ancient builders to increase the height of masonry structures by distributing gravity loads produced by the building material 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 compromizing the structural integrity of the building. The most graphic example of a setback technique is the step pyramids of Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, such as the Teppe Sialk ziggurat or the Pyramid of Djoser. A brick wall built using the Flemish Bond Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar. ... The Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan, is one example of an enormous step pyramid. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Ancient Egypt was a civilization located in Africa, along the upper Nile, reaching from the Nile Delta in the north to as far south as Jebel Barkal at the Fourth Cataract of the Nile at the time of its greatest extension (15th century BC). ... Sialk is a large ancient archeological structure in Kashan, Iran. ... The Step Pyramid The Step Pyramid The Pyramid of Djoser was built for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by his Vizier Imhotep. ...

For centuries, setbacks were a structural necessity for virtually all multi-level load-bearing masonry buildings and structures. A brick wall built using the Flemish Bond Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar. ...

New York Daily News Building featuring a number of setbacks. Design by architect Raymond Hood, 1929.

As architects 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. In modern times, the use of a frame structural system, such as a steel frame, eliminated the need for structural setbacks. This however created a range of fire safety and health hazards associated with physical growth and density of buildings in large cities in early 20th century. Thus, the construction of the 42-story Equitable Building (Manhattan), built in New York in 1915, resulted in a huge shadow, which effectively deprived neighboring properties of sun light. Download high resolution version (345x661, 97 KB)photo courtesy of Dover Publications Hugh Ferriss File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (345x661, 97 KB)photo courtesy of Dover Publications Hugh Ferriss File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Raymond M. Hood (March 29, 1881 - August 14, 1934) was an early-mid twentieth century architect who worked in the Art Deco style. ... Architect at his drawing board, 1893 An architect is a person involved in the planning, designing and oversight of a buildings construction. ... The Pyramid of the Moon, Teotihuacan, is one example of an enormous step pyramid. ... In architecture, ornament is decorative detail on buildings. ... A frame or framework is a structural skeleton, which supports the other components of the object. ... Steel frame usual refers to a building technique in which a skeleton of frame of steel is constructed to support the building which is attached to the frame. ... Night view of Taipei City. ... The Equitable Building, viewed from street level The Equitable Building is a famous 36-story office building at 120 Broadway in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. ... Nickname: The Big Apple, The Capital of the World Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ...

Today many jurisdictions rely on urban planning 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 in New York, front walls of buildings at the street line may be limited to a specified height or number of stories. 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 law, jurisdiction from the Latin jus, juris meaning law and dicere meaning to speak, is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted body or to a person to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility. ... Urban planning is concerned with the ordering and design of settlements, from the smallest towns to the worlds largest cities. ... In general, zoning is the division of an area into sub-areas, called zones. ... The Borough of Manhattan, highlighted in yellow, lies between the East River and the Hudson River. ... Nickname: The Big Apple, The Capital of the World Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ...

In addition, setbacks promote fire safety by spacing buildings and their protruding parts away from each other and allow for passage of fire engines between buildings. Engine 4 - City of Chico, CA A Fire Engine is one of many specialized fire suppression apparatuses. ...

In the United States, setback requirements vary among municipalities. For example, the absence of sky exposure plane provisions in the Chicago 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. A municipality or general-purpose district (compare with: special-purpose district) is an administrative local area generally composed of a clearly defined territory and commonly referring to a city, town, or village government. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... Skyline of Hong Kong at night Skyline of New York City Skyline of Tokyo Skyline of Shanghai The Chicago skyline as seen from the north The Skyline of Dubai Seoul Skyline Singapore Skyline For other uses, see Skyline (disambiguation). ... Nickname: The Big Apple, The Capital of the World Official website: City of New York Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area Total 468. ... Plaza is a Spanish word related to field which describes an open urban public space, such as a city square. ...

References

• Delirious New York, by Rem Koolhaas. Monacceli Press, reprint 1997.
• A Patern Language, by Christopher Alexander. Oxford University Press, 1977.

External links

• http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcp/html/zone/zonehis.shtml NYC Zoning History