439 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg: New York City’s First LEED Platinum Mixed-Use Development?

In a press release that’s not presently available online, Helder Design announced today that it will seek Gotham’s first LEED Platinum rating for a mixed-used project at 439 Metropolitan Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The development broke ground back in August and should wrap up sometime this summer. It will house Helder’s architecture studio, as well as two duplex condominium residences and a ground-floor art gallery. Designed by Netherlands native Mark Helder, who moved his firm to New York back in 2002, the south-facing green building will feature passive solar design, radiant flooring, photovoltaics, and efficient ventilation and insulation systems. Helder notes that he wanted to “get the maximum energy efficiency I can out of the available technology. With this building, I’m not necessarily looking at market pressures. I’m thinking about how I can make the best possible building to fit the social and economic realities of the location.” To that end, Helder’s work is a fusion of modern aesthetic and sustainable design that’s great to see on a project of its scale and scope. Check out additional images of 439 Metropolitan Avenue, as well as details on some of Helder’s other work, via its website here. We’ll, as always, follow up with more details as this important project proceeds over the next few months.

• Helder Design