A philosophical question about bats

[Fantozzi 4,067]

Hope not to bother, as I use the word "philosohical" often to hide the word "naive" behind it.

I have a great need for residentals, in my cities the biggest demand is always residentials. And I have a big bunch of goodlooking commercials. So I converted some commercials to residentials. But I can't help - some of those converted buildings still look like commercials, they simply don't look well as residentials. But others do. So I converted some of them back again to commercials. A friend of mine would call this doing a WOMBAT.

I don't get it. There must be an aesthetic difference, some characteristics I should look for, that makes commercials definitve commercial. But I can't name them. It's something I'm doing by gut instinct, and it's like lottery, sometimes its good, sometime not.

So even the question may sound strange: what makes the aesthetic difference between commercials and residentials, any characteristics named that help me use more brain and less "gut trust", I really would appreciate.

[matias93 7,535]

Abusing of the use of 'philosophically', I think that we could think on commercial buildings more as apparatuses or tools, and residential buildings as shelters. Those meanings have some graphic and physical correlates, so a business tower could look as a high-tech device, but not as a comfortable place to seek shelter from the outside; this was, anyway, less pronounced in older architectonical styles: up to early modernism (~1940s) or even brutalism (~1950s and 1960s) commercial and residential buildings looked similar and even were merged together, mainly because the idea of building as a shelter was stronger then.

With the development of the architectonical paradigm of shape separated from structure (and the technical methods to archieve that), newer commercial buildings begun to hide structural masses and to look more light, less 'protective', opening the aforementioned gap.

I think this couple of google images result pages explain this better than me:

search for Residential Building

search for Business Building

[MushyMushy 3,618]

Aside from the design of the building, another major divide between the two uses is how they look at night. If we're talking about larger buildings, a properly-done office building in SC4 will have a good number of its windows illuminated with the cold light of florescent bulbs. Apartment towers shouldn't have many lit windows (sleep...) and the ones that are should be a warmer color, since that's associated with a more forgiving and inviting atmosphere. This difference alone can make a building that otherwise could pass for residential or commercial based on its design (there are cases where they can look somewhat similar) will make it look odd if it's used as the other.

[rsc204 21,810]

Here in Frankfurt they are converting many commercial offices into residential buildings. This includes tall towers, which honestly look no different after the conversion, except maybe for the curtains instead of blinds in the Windows.

They are also doing this in my street, which is annoying, because we don't really have the infrastructure for thousands of new homes here, but I digress. Some of these are undergoing larger changes as part of the conversion. But I still think for the most part they look like offices.

Then you have the buildings with shops/offices and residential combined. From the simple shops with apartments above them to some more complex mixed use setups. So you can mix them a bit in SC4, but really it comes down to what you feel works.

[Jasoncw 11,840]

There are a few things you can look for. 

• Residential buildings have lower floor heights.
• Residential buildings are divided into individual apartments which are divided further into small rooms. Office buildings are large open floor plans filled with cubicles. Walls are put in occasionally to divide floors up into different tenants, and also to create private office suites (although note that in some countries the open office floor plan didn't catch on). This means that the facade of an office building will tend to be more open and uniform, while the facade of a residential building will appear more cellular. 
• This will also show up in nitelites where in office buildings the nitelites should be (if the BATer did them correctly) long horizontal strips of lit up windows representing the cube farms being lit up, while residential buildings will have smaller clumps of windows lit up, representing bedrooms or living rooms.
• Artificial lighting is considered more acceptable in office buildings, meaning that they can be very thick and the deep interior can use artificial light, or uses that don't need much light, like conference rooms, can be put there. Thick buildings are more cost effective than thin buildings, so especially in big American cities you end up with really thick office buildings. Residential buildings are expected to have natural lighting for all of the main inhabited spaces. Not only that but there are a lot of walls, and the ceilings are shorter, so natural light penetrates less further into the building. For most apartment buildings the elevator and hallways are in the middle, then surrounding those are hallways and bathrooms, and then along the exterior of the building are living rooms and bedrooms. When you add up the dimensions of these rooms together you end up with narrow slabs. As a general rule of thumb if a tower is thicker than 2 tiles then it would be hard for it to be residential. 
• The cellular nature of residential floor plans affects the structural system used. In office buildings you want open floors with as few columns as possible, and so you're more likely to see steel beams used to create as large of spans as possible. This means that whenever columns are visible on the outside of the building they'll be spaced much further apart. With residential buildings you already have a bunch of walls anyway to hide columns in, so the larger spans are not necessary, and so residential buildings are usually reinforced concrete. When you see columns on the outside (and there might not even be any columns in concrete structures) they'll be much more closely spaced than in office buildings.
• And then finally residential buildings will tend to have a more domestic character, while office buildings will tend to have a more institutional character.

In general, since European office buildings are thinner than American ones, and tend to have a much smaller scale in general, you'd have better luck with trying to pass those off as residential buildings. And there's also hotels which in real life are very similar to residential buildings, since they're essentially apartment buildings.

[Fantozzi 4,067]

8 hours ago, Jasoncw said:

This will also show up in nitelites where in office buildings the nitelites should be (if the BATer did them correctly) long horizontal strips of lit up windows representing the cube farms being lit up, while residential buildings will have smaller clumps of windows lit up, representing bedrooms or living rooms.

I always was sceptical on this. I mean - that sims doing so much office night work, that in the nights offices a bright lighted meanwhile residentials are quite dark ... and than statistics saying they all get 90 years old and are happy. Who believes THAT ???

 

8 hours ago, Jasoncw said:

And there's also hotels which in real life are very similar to residential buildings, since they're essentially apartment buildings.

That's a good hint! Thank you. Indeed many hotels I have are offices and looking well as residentials. 

 

[T Wrecks 10,209]

Good list there, Jason! One tiny bit to add: You will probably not see balconies on an office building, but on a residential building it's not unlikely. For an example from Germany, check the "Crane Houses" in Cologne, three fundamentally identical modern buildings that mimic the shape of harbour cranes protruding above the water. Two are offices, one is residential. The office ones have sleek, uninterrupted glass surfaces, the residential one has balconies scattered all over the walls and looks a bit cluttered as a consequence.

I guess this can be seen from two perspectives, an inside perspective and an outside perspective:

• From the inside, balconies would be inefficient in office buildings. They require an access, which limits your freedom concerning the arrangemen of furniture (you need a passage to each balcony access). Moreover, balconies are usually separate private spaces - even if the basic balcony structure is continuous, you'll find partition walls. However, such private spaces don't fit into an office environment, where team work is required and privacy is limited. You may find a terrace instead, where workers can enjoy some fresh air (or a cigarette) while on their break (or while on the clock  ) together.
  For residential buildings, balconies enable each individual to enjoy a bit of fresh air in private.
• From the outside, I find that office buildings are often designed to convey a sober, serious, professional, sleek and direct look, sometimes even bordering the intimidating. We don't play games. We are professionals. We keep order. We proceed systematically. We are leaders. We are untouchable. Balconies would disturb the clear, systematic lines with their optical clutter - and playful aspects like flowers or other balcony furniture would destroy the formal, professional atmosphere.
  Residential buildings, however, are often meant to convey a sense of homeliness even from the outside. It's comfy in here. You can enjoy great views from the balconies. There are flowers and other nice things to enjoy. Wouldn't it be great to live here? A cold and sleek look might make the building look less appealing.