In Detail> City College’s masterpiece Shepard Hall gets a long-awaited restoration, gargoyles and all. Read Aaron Seward’s full article here.
This week the AIA New York Chapter / Center for Architecture took over the West 4th Street subway station to present Made in New York - an architectural showcase of projects by Chapter members. Elemental Architecture’s new Private Residence in Croton-on-Hudson is among the work featured in the exhibit.
Made in New York features work of all scales & types – small, large, commercial, residential, public, private, interiors, historic preservation, engineering, landscape and urban design – presenting the scope and quality of work being done by AIA New York Chapter members across the globe. This high-visibility exhibition offers a snapshot of current practices and celebrates the diversity of the Chapter’s membership.
The exhibit runs through the end of October. For additional information on the exhibit click here. To see more images of the Croton project, visit us on Facebook.
Mr. Zeller writes in his NY Times “Green” Blog post “When Green Building Is Not Green Enough” that “the nation’s building stock plays a bigger role in energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions than many Americans might realize.” This is only true (a) because many Americans have chosen to ignore information that has been widely available for at least four decades and (b) powerful business and social interests have conducted a massive campaign of misinformation in order to maintain positions of economic and political power. (more…)
The LA Times article – http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-urban-green-20100903,0,588562.story – addressing the intersection of affordable housing and sustainable action raises a number of significant challenges as well as highlighting several relatively successful solutions. Unfortunately, two conclusions, stated or implied, interfere with the simplest, most effective short-term strategies for greening our society.
A primary misconception is the belief that to introduce sustainable measures in low-income communities is problematic because of first cost, and second, that the most effective environmental measures take the form of add-ons such as solar panels. In fact, many environmentally responsible approaches have equal or lower first costs than their less sustainable counterparts, as well as reducing ongoing operating costs. Frequently, the only component that must be added is either clearly presented information, or in the case of new buildings or building retrofit, smart design.
This should not be seen as lowering of expectations or of quality of life, but rather as maximizing the usefulness of all resources utilized. Mt. Airy Woods housing is an example of this strategy. Completed in 1995, the twelve unit (six one-bedroom, three two-bedroom and three three-bedroom) complex had an average construction cost of just over $50,000 per unit which was very competitive with similar projects of the era. However, unlike many low-cost housing projects, Mt. Airy Woods incorporated high-performance windows, significantly higher levels of insulation than required by code, responsive heating controls and zoning, earth-buffering, and low-maintenance materials throughout.
The use of higher quality materials and systems without compromising the budget was made possible by providing the maximum useful living space in the smallest possible package. While the particulars of the Mt. Airy Woods project will not apply to every, or even most projects, understanding their impact is instructive. The site is steeply sloping, having an average pitch of 1:3. In general, this would have been considered a serious drawback to development; however, it allowed the design of multi-unit buildings with on-grade, direct access to every unit. This, in turn, meant that there was no construction for public corridors or stairs. This not only reduced the amount of building which in itself is a significant environmental benefit, but it also reduced the amount of building area that needs to be heated and maintained. Further, it improved accessibility and security as well as giving each unit the sense of “entry” and arrival.
This is a limited explanation of a very specific example but is intended to suggest that the careful application of resources, both those that are purchased and those that pre-exist within the boundaries of a project, can address concerns for sustainability while enhancing quality of life issues, and do so within completely conventional budgets.
On July 19th and 20th 1848, the first Women’s Rights Convention was held, resulting in the drafting of the Declaration of Sentiments which became the foundation for the struggle for full equality for women, including the right to vote which was not granted until the Nineteenth Amendment was passed in 1920. The 1848 Convention was held at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, NY.
In the decades following the Convention, little attention was paid to the meeting place which went through a number changes. In the mid-1980’s, by which time the building was being used for snowplow storage, apartments and a laundromat, the National Park Service recognized its significance and purchased the Chapel as a National Historic Site. NPS, along with the National Endowment for the Arts organized a competition for a design that would commemorate the Convention utilizing the surviving fragments of the Chapel and some vacant, adjoining land.
(Image courtesy of National Park Service)
Beginning in 1985, NPS, along with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) organized a competition for a design that would commemorate the Convention utilizing the surviving fragments of the Chapel and some vacant, adjoining land. In 1987, the competition was won by Ann Marshall and Ray Kinoshita, then students at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. They joined forces with The Stein Partnership (now Elemental Architecture) to complete the project. An adjacent building, originally designed as a car dealership but later used as a Municipal Building for Seneca Falls, was added to the scope to provide a Visitors Center and administrative facilities for the park. Two floors of interpretive material were designed by Chermayeff and Geismar.
The completed Chapel Block which presented the Chapel fragments in a way that spoke compellingly to the neglect long accorded to women’s rights, was dedicated in 1993 on the 145th anniversary of the first Women’s Rights Convention. In 1995, it received a Federal Design Award from the NEA. To read more about the award-winning design here.
In 2009, in order to provide year-round climate mitigation, the NPS opted to fully enclose the Chapel space by reconstructing the exterior walls based on projections of what the original might have looked like.
(Image courtesy of National Park Service)
Although more versatile, the current configuration lacks the elegant poignancy of the original design and, further, compromises the authenticity of the visitor’s experience.
Elemental is pleased to announce that two projects have been selected for the latest edition of the AIA Guide to New York City. The Guide, the most comprehensive single-volume guide to the City’s architecture spanning all five boroughs, identifies significant works ranging from historic treasures to its most recent projects. Both Shepard Hall and The South Jamaica Branch Library are highlighted with South Jamaica described as a “modest but wonderful addition…”
We’re honored to be included.
Yesterday, May 31st, commemorated Walt Whitman’s 191st birthday. His modest birth-home, a farmhouse, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Our design of the adjacent interpretative center was conceived to shelter the farmhouse and visitor experience from the bustle of twenty-first century Long Island; the natural and built environments are joined with the presentation of cultural history through a curving cedar wall time-line that starts within the exhibit space and leads across the grounds to a point directly in front of the house where Walt Whitman was born.
The Interpretive Center brings together several design aspects that have characterized the work of elemental – environmentally sensitive, energy efficient architecture. The use of passive solar gain and thermal storage, and gravity ventilation — both characteristics of nineteenth century vernacular building design — can be seen in the large, south facing windows of Whitman’s house. Similar features have been incorporated into the Interpretive Center.
The new facility serves three interpretive functions: the building is a gateway from the modern world to the historic site; it includes the exhibit space which encourages the visitor to experience Whitman’s life, writings, and philosophy in an environment that reflects the poet’s lifelong concern with the interrelationship between humankind and nature, and in full sight of the birthplace building. Once the visitor has passed through the gateway onto the historic site, the building and the extended cedar wall establish a peaceful precinct, shielding the view of cars, trucks, signs and neon lights.
To learn more about the Birthplace Association, click here.
You are cordially invited to join the Westbeth Artists Housing Association in celebrating its 40th Anniversary and designation as a National Historic Landmark on Monday, May 3, 2010.
Located in the far West Village of New York City, Westbeth provides affordable living and working spaces for artists and their families. Opened in 1970, through funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the J.M. Kaplan Foundation, Westbeth continues to offer affordable artists’ housing and an array of cultural activities.
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Master of Ceremonies:
Carl Stein, FAIA, Principal, Elemental Architecture
Brief Remarks by:
Jerrold Nadler, United States Congressman
Kate Levin, Commissioner, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs
Robert Tierney, Chair, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission
Wint Aldrich, Deputy Commissioner for Historic Preservation, NYS Parks
Joan Davidson, Trustee, J.M. Kaplan Fund
Richard Meier, FAIA, Principal, Richard Meier & Partners
Steven Neil, Executive Director, Westbeth Artists Association
George Cominski, President, Westbeth Artists Residents Council
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Gallery show beginning at 5:30 with brief remarks at 6:45
Jazz by Westbeth musicians
Light refreshments following remarks.