Modern Green Design

Back in February, we noted that Bates Masi + Architects' Re-Cover House in Amagansett would be profiled in the April 2009 issue of Dwell . The project's interiors are actually featured on the magazine's front cover and Dwell 's article is a must-read; it details the history of the house (designed by Harry Bates in 1967 as a family beach retreat) and interviews owners Joe Dolce and Jonathan Burnham, who "bought the house because we liked it - we didn't want to change it." The 1400-square-foot Re-Cover House, or Dolce & Burnham Residence, incorporates material recycled from the original 1970s house to blend old with new; cyprus wall boards and cedar wood decking were preserved and transformed into new siding, stair treads, and risers. You'll recall that the project also earned a 2008 AIA Peconic Chapter Merit Award for Architecture / Renovations & Additions. You can find the Dolce & Burnham Residence on page 82 of Dwell 's "Time and Again" feature, which also details two other modern renovations to homes in Portland and Toronto.

We’ve noted Bijou Properties’ Garden Street Lofts condominium project in uptown Hoboken previously but want to note an award that the development earned earlier this week from the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC). SBIC awarded Bijou and SHoP a "Beyond Green 2008" award in the multi-family property category. First place overall went to Nationals Park, the first LEED-certified professional sports facility in the country; other winners were selected across a variety of other categories which you can check out via the link below in SBIC’s press release.

The $16.8 million, 30-unit Garden Street Lofts development is aiming for LEED Silver and is currently 50 percent sold. The project scope contemplated a seven-story steel and concrete addition to an existing five-story, 43,000-square-foot former warehouse that dates from 1919. 7500 square feet of retail space faces onto 14th Street, and the project is an easy walk from the New York Waterway ferries across the Hudson to 34th Street in Manhattan.

Greenburgh, New York opened its new library to the public back in December and I think you'll agree that the architecture is pretty intriguing. Although Midtown-based Beatty, Harvey & Associates Architects incorporated a variety of sustainable design elements, the town opted not to pursue a formal LEED certification. Specific green features include a geothermal heating and cooling system, automated lighting controls, locally-sourced materials, and a lobby floor that was built from recycled rubber tires. The town provided a tour of the project last fall which we've linked to via YouTube below. The $20 million, 45,000-square-foot library is located adjacent to Interstate 287 in Westchester County and actually visible from the highway itself. Given the project's location, it's a interesting that BH&A partner and lead architect Salvatore Coco suggested a nautical theme through the project's 28-foot exterior glass windows and curving, cantilevered roof. Contractor E.W. Howell required nearly two years to complete the project, which sits just west of White Plains.

You may recall One Jackson Square , a 36-unit, 11-story condominium project under construction in the West Village that will seek an unspecified level of LEED certification from USGBC. The project, co-developed by Hines and RFR, was designed by KPF principal William Pedersen and sits on an irregularly-shaped 10,697 square foot floor plate on the stretch of Greenwich Avenue between West 13th and 14th Streets. Recently, Mr. Pederson participated in a charity auction for the Animal Medical Center by designing a dog house inspired by his architecture at One Jackson Square.

Notwithstanding the condo’s luxury finishes, Pedersen’s design concept was to take a simple box and mimic some of the architectural features of the LEED-hopeful project. The 20-square-foot kennel features a green roof, the same Baltic birch plywood that will ultimately grace the One Jackson Square lobby, and was constructed using the same digital carving process as the real thing.