Tracey Towers: Paul Rudolph’s Concrete Civil Monuments
In a somewhat quiet area of the Bronx stands two impressive residential skyscrapers, Tracey Towers. Designed by Modernist master Paul Rudolph for the Mitchell-Lama housing programme and built in 1972, they soar above the relatively tame and flat skyline of the Bronx, standing tall in their monolithic and monumental forms.
The Story of Tracey Towers could be traced back to Rudolph’s Crawford Manor, built in 1964 for the New Haven Housing Authority. Crawford Manor is a 15-story high rise housing block with some peculiar design features that have made their way into the design of Tracey Towers. From the curving exterior to the vertically ribbed surfaces, the formal continuity is there to see for all. What is more interesting is the internal floorplan of the two buildings, despite their complex exterior forms, the interior is surprisingly clean and sensible. In an 1967 edition of Progressive Architecture, Paul Rudolph himself wrote: “...if you repeat something often enough it is not so hard to think about. It’s the same with corners: if you repeat them often enough, they are not so hard to build. In fact, the floor plan of most of these apartments is the same, only rotated around the core, once the pattern is established, continuing it is easy.”
Tracey Towers took the same principle, though on a larger scale. While Crawford Manor is mostly one and two Bedroom apartments, as it was meant for elderly residents and bed-sitters, Tracey Towers are usually two to four person units, set up for normal households. Crawford Manor has a central hallway with stairs and elevators, and units on one side and two ends of the hallway, while Tracey Towers have a central transportation core and units surrounding said core from all sides, perhaps a much more classic design. This was done because it was a cheap and effective way to construct a tall structure, by putting the load bearing duties onto a strong central concrete shaft. In the end, Tracey Towers are residential buildings with a utilitarian purpose, especially considering that they are built for lower-income citizens. The simple and effective structural design allows Paul Rudolph to construct the shell structure for visual and psychological purposes. In conversation with John Wesley Cook and Heinrich Klotz, Rudolph says:
“In Tracey Towers, the exterior walls are not curved for structural reasons at all, but because the site plan and traffic movement dictated an easing of the corners. They are also curved in order to lead the eye around the towers, thereby emphasizing their three-dimensionality. They are also curved because they give a heightened sense of security to the occupants of a very high building, and one looks out and sees these walls, which seem like huge columns, closely rising from the ground. However, they are not columns, but walls, but they are read as columns, which is as intended for psychological reasons.”
It is a clever design that not only provides a visual intrigue from the outside, but also helps with the psychology of those living within it. Rudolph says that he was tasked with creating round towers, but decided that pie-shaped, irregular rooms will be uncomfortable to live in, and opted for the cylindrical outside shelling design which provides the illusion of a flowing round structure, but actually creates comfortable and familiar square spaces inside.
Tracey Towers noticeably have no setbacks, despite being 38 and 44 stories tall respectively, reaching a height of 120 metres. This was accomplished by using up the air rights above its neighbouring facilities. Paul Rudolph himself says: “Tracey Towers utilizes the air rights over a storage yard for subway trains, simultaneously eliminating a Twentieth Century eyesore and creating a man-made plateau within the New York City area which gives a sense of community and identity.” Around Tracey Towers is also a reservoir and a few major roadways, all these factors allow the building to soar into the sky without the worry of illegally looming over other structures.
As with most housing projects, Tracey Towers have faced its fair share of issues, from deterioration of amenities and structure to crime. Two of the most recent cases are the collapse of a short wall, and a fatal stabbing of a resident by her husband. Unfortunately, the list of similar news articles would go on if one is to dig through the years of archives. What lies in Tracey Towers’ future remains to be seen, but for as many troubles they face, still they are serving their purposes admirably, providing spaces to live in for many lower income families making a living in the city. And for architecture fans, they will continue to stand tall, piercing the Bronx skies.
