STATE STREET PASSIVE HOUSE

Address: Brooklyn, New York Role: Project & Preservation Architect Architect: Unknown Year Built: 1890 Completed: 2018 Project Status: Completed This four-story brick townhouse was gut renovated and expanded with a three-story addition in the back, built using insulated concrete forms. The garden level has a separate studio apartment in front and an indoor, 8-foot by 13-foot swim-in-place pool in back. Although the pool area is within the home’s thermal envelope, addressing the humidity issues posed by…


PASSIVE HOUSE PODCAST EP. 147: JOHN SEMMELHACK, IAQ AND WILDFIRE SMOKE

Passive House Podcast co-host Zack Semke catches up with John Semmelhack, co-owner of the Comfort Squad based in Charlottesville, Virginia, and a member of the Phius Technical Committee. John shares an immediate, triage solution to keeping indoor air clean (the Corsi-Rosenthal cube) as well as a long-term, structural solution (Passive House airtightness and ventilation with high-performance filtration). Listen to learn about short-term triage solutions as well as longer-term structural solutions…


What we can learn from Nordic countries about affordable housing

The article below is an op-ed by MAP Founding Principal Magnus Magnusson published in Crains New York Business, May 15, 2023 Everyone is talking about making New York housing more affordable and plentiful. But there are lessons from a unique "home-centric" culture that shouldn’t be overlooked. As an Iceland-born architect who has been designing housing in New York for more than 30 years, I’ve seen the achievements and failures of…


The Beacon Community Facility

LOCATION: East Harlem, New York, NY PROGRAM: Adaptive Re-use Community Facility TOTAL AREA: 59,300 SF CLIENT: The Community Builders + Ascendant Neighborhood Development PARTNERS: NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development, W X Y Architecture, Victor Body Lawson, Terrain Landscape Architecture, Lettire Construction We are proud to be part of the winning team for The Beacon, led by The Community Builders and Ascendant Neighborhood Development and including PCA, WXY Architecture, and Body Lawson Associates…


SOM Launches Whole Life Carbon Accounting:

“The greatest opportunity to work towards a more sustainable future is to invest in new climate action measures,” said Kent Jackson, SOM Design Partner. “We are proud to extend our long and proven history of working with public bodies, property owners and developers to help lead the way for a low-carbon built environment. We look forward to bringing our skills and expertise to bear on the critical issue of a reduced…


SAFETY LEARNING: VIDEO SERIES ON THE INSTALLATION OF FALL ARREST SYSTEMS.

Ready to be safe? Subscribe to this Video Series and receive the link to the videos. This Video Series from Rothoblaas details basic information regarding the installation, annual inspection and documentation procedures of fall arrest systems produced by Rothoblaas. Topics covered in this Video Series include: the risks related to falls from height and the relevant standards of reference; solutions for attaching the fall arrest systems on various surfaces; and, assembly…


Who is Desana?

Learn more about Desana Leadership Desana has been the leader in brick rainscreen systems for nearly a decade.  It was Desana that engineered and introduced the first mechanically attached brick rainscreen systems (Corium & Tru-Brix) to the North American market. Desana is pleased to be the industry’s pioneer pushing the envelope of brick rainscreen design, research, and installation.  Each of our systems are designed and manufactured to meet the project’s…


Dan Piselli – Director of Sustainability and Principal at FXCollaborative

Project: Bilkent University Student Residence, Photo Copyright: Thomas Mayer In the 21st century, construction has come to an inflection point. Sustainable development is no longer just a nice building feature but a requirement. Dan Piselli — the director of sustainability and principal at FXCollaborative — spends his time advancing energy efficiency and helping others achieve their sustainability goals. Here’s how Piselli entered the architecture field and views the passive house…


Icons of Infrastructure

From Deploying Smart Trash Cans To Smart Water Meters And Air Quality Monitors, New York City Is Offering Data-Driven Services To Its Residents. The NYC Mayor’s Office of Technology and Innovation (MOTI) is carrying out ongoing efforts to turn New York into a smart city. These measures aim to conserve resources such as energy and water, while reducing the environmental impact of NYC and improving the quality of living for its population. Smart…


Ross: These rooftop gardens are getting a new tenant, bees

Urban rooftop gardens have been around for a long time, but today, they’re not just for decoration. They’re a crucial part of the green building movement. Where instead of just shedding runoff, the roof stores it and releases it back into the atmosphere to reduce the need for drainage systems. One Bryant Park is a 51-story office tower at 6th Avenue and 42nd Street in New York City. It’s one…


DIVE BRIEF To improve multifamily housing energy efficiency and resiliency, HUD offers $4.8B for retrofits

Dive Brief: The Department of Housing and Urban Development has opened its first round of funding applications for the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, which will provide a total of $4.8 billion in direct loans and grants for HUD-assisted multifamily properties to fund green, energy-efficient and resiliency renovation projects. The housing agency published a set of guidelines and qualifications for potential applicants to the GRRP, including information on each of its “cohorts,”…


NEW YORK HOLDS THE TORCH FOR AN ALL-ELECTRIC BUILDINGS FUTURE

New York recently made history when it became the first state to pass ambitious legislation that will require most new buildings to be all-electric. The law, negotiated as part of the state budget deal, underscores the importance of tackling buildings in order to meet our climate goals and sets an important precedent for the rest of the country. Along the way, state leaders want to show how eliminating fossil fuels…