Comparing Architecture: A Study of New York and Los Angeles Designs

This essay provides a comparative analysis of architecture in New York City and Los Angeles, highlighting key differences and similarities in their architectural styles, art scenes, and approaches to urban challenges. New York City's architecture has evolved from a Dutch settlement into a metropolis, showcasing diverse cultural styles and housing iconic structures like the Empire State Building and Saint Patrick's Cathedral. The city faces challenges related to climate change, transportation, and population growth, leading to innovative solutions like modular constructions and mixed-use affordable housing. Los Angeles, inspired by its climate and landscape, emphasizes modernism and everyday architecture, focusing on bringing good design to the masses, and addressing homelessness through infrastructural changes and public building redesigns. While New York grapples with high-rise buildings and neighborhood development, Los Angeles showcases architectural styles like Colonial Revival and Modern Contemporary. Ultimately, the essay concludes that Los Angeles has a better scope for accommodating its population with unique and innovative designs.

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Comparative Analysis between New York and Los Angeles architecture
Introduction
The architect industry is one of the rapidly changing industry action of interactive
elements in public buildings around our vicinity, futuristic technology at homes, radically
designed hotels, airports and office buildings. As cities have become more populated, a multitude
of factors such as noise cancellation, pollution control, privacy, green space, parking, and
affordable housing have started to put up. The increase in demand requires to be met by bringing
in innovative designs and out of the box concepts in the architecture. Designers are now
incorporating new technology into their consideration from the beginning of the design phase.
Therefore, technology has become a major catalyst for the changes in the architecture industry.
On the contrary, the economy of US has strengthened from the past years giving confidence to
people to buy their own property. The architecture of New York City and Los Angeles has been
a debate for travelers to see which city fosters a better architecture.
Architecture in NYC Vs. Architecture in LA
First point: Art Scene of New York and LA
Specific point 1: New York is well known for its architecture and skyscrapers. The New
York City has evolved from a simple Dutch settlement too well recognized metropolis by
adapting, fully expressing different cultural styles throughout the decades. From its olden times,
National museums, memorials, and churches have been a center of attraction for travelers from
all over the world. The world famous Museum of Metropolitan art and Saint Patrick Cathedral
the oldest architecturalpioneers in the city. The city holds one of the tallest building records in
the world.
Specific point 2:The city of Los Angeles holds the essence of modernism in its
architecture blended with commercial pragmatism that generated new ways to improve the

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architecture. As compared to New York, Los Angeles has always been inspired by their near
ideal climate under dramatic natural landscape. Los Angeles has focus more on bringing good
design to its masses and everyday architecture. The design of the everyday architecture including
the department stores, apartment houses coffee shops and amusement parks are often as good as
expensive custom homes.
Second point:Demand for affordable housing in New York vs. Los Angeles
Specific point 1:The city of New York is considering its myriad challenges due to threat
of climate change, crumbling transportation and overgrowing population has made it difficult for
the city to manage its architectural beauty (“Here's how 9 architects would fix New York City's
biggest problems”). In the recent advancements, the city has planned to develop mixed use
building with 100% of the units allocated for affordable housing across all income levels. The
concept of modular constructions has been a sigh of relief for New Yorkers. Unlike any other
city, New York is gearing up to mitigate the challenges it is currently facing.
Specific point 2:Los Angeles is currently facing the homelessness crisis with over 34000
homeless people in the city itself. The city of Los Angeles is in a better condition than New York
with regards to managing its expanding population. The growing population in New York has
nearly failed to accommodate the Americans living on the streets Los Angeles has a chance to
offer its own unique architectural design by utilizing its massive urban centers (“Can Design
Help Solve LA’s Homeless Crisis?”). The city is focusing on redesigning its public buildings and
bringing infrastructural changes.
Third point: Architectural issues in both the cities
Specific point 1: New York has two major concentrations of high rise buildings the
Midtown Manhattan and lower Manhattan. The state has notable building such as the Empire
State Building, Rockefeller center, and the Chrysler building under its name. The Downtown
Skyline is architecturally equipped history of tall buildings. As the city grew, the development in
its neighborhood started growing. The development in the nearby areas started to improve such
as large homes in Staten Islands, add architectural designs of the row houses in Brooklyn that
stand out to be different from LA’s residential infrastructures.
Specific point 2:The city of Los Angeles focuses on certain architectural styles such as
the Colonial Revival styles, the Modern Contemporary styles, the craftsman style, the Dutch

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colonial Revival, the French eclectic, English Tudor Revival, and the International style.
Architectural styles have beena narrative for the city of Los Angeles and evolved itself from
centuries.
Conclusion
Architecture is a science behind building innovative and unique designs which is
reflected by the personality of the architect and their beliefs. The role of architecture has created
unique space among the modern knowledge systems where it is all set to satisfy both aesthetics
sensibilities and economic and social requirements of human beings. From the above comparison
of architectural designs of New York and Los Angeles, it can be concluded that Los Angeles has
a better scope of improvement in terms of accommodating its people with its unique designs.

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Work Cited
Cimino, Steve. Can Design Help Solve LA’s Homeless Crisis?. Architect, Web 26 Mar. 2019.
<https://www.architectmagazine.com/aia-architect/aiafeature/can-design-help-solve-las-
homeless-crisis_o>
Plitt, Amy. Here's how 9 architects would fix New York City's biggest problems. Curbed New
York, 26 Mar. 2019 <https://ny.curbed.com/2017/12/28/16825996/nyc-architecture-
proposals-climate-change-skyscraper>