green design

One of the many reasons why I’ve been waiting for the warm weather this year is to spend some time in Times Square on the steps of the new Perkins Eastman-designed TKTS booth in Father Duffy Square; as you probably know, TKTS provides discount tickets to both Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. I’ve walked past the booth a few times and think the firm did a tremendous job both in terms of the project’s straightforward architecture, as well as applying the Theater Development Fund’s design competition requirement that it include public space. What’s particularly noteworthy about the booth is that it includes some understated green design features which, though visible from the outside of the structure, are nevertheless integrated seamlessly into the booth itself.

The Rhinebeck, New York-based Omega Institute for Holistic Studies announced last week that it has broken ground on its Omega Center for Sustainable Living. The OCSL is aiming for a LEED Platinum rating and was designed by Kansas City-based BNIM Architects, the firm responsible for the new master plan for Greensburg, Kansas. During Greenbuild 2007, Omega won a Living Building Challenge "On the Boards Award" for the OCSL and, once completed, the Center will be the first Living Building on the East Coast. (Note that the Living Building Challenge is sponsored by the Cascadia Region Green Building Council, was introduced during Greenbuild 2006 in Denver, and BNIM has been involved with the program from its inception).

NDR Group recently completed construction on Garito Manor at Union Square . The 102-unit, $30 million facility will accommodate seniors over the age of 62 with lower incomes. While funding for the project came from many sources, NYSERDA provided a $399,000 grant for the project’s green features, which include five geothermal wells, energy efficient lighting, windows, and insulation, and locally-sourced materials. Perkins Eastman Architects designed the project with construction management services from Andon Construction Company . Garito Manor is seeking an unspecified level of LEED certification; for monthly rents ranging from $2200-$2800 residents will enjoy two daily meals, 24-hour security and concierge, housekeeping, and transportation services. The complex opened today for residents to begin moving in and is named for former New Rochelle mayor Frank Garito, who had pushed during his administration for the redevelopment of New Rochelle’s downtown historic district.

Fresh off of its efforts to create a LEED for Commercial Interiors Platinum space for the National Audobon Society at 225 Varick Street, mechanical and electrical engineers WSP Flack + Kurtz are pursuing a LEED-CI Gold rating for the firm’s new headquarters space at 512 Seventh Avenue in Midtown (between West 37th and 38th Streets).

Designed by FXFOWLE and recently completed by general contractor Citadel Construction (noteworthy because this is the same team that executed the Audobon Society headquarters project) the 40,000-square-foot space includes cork flooring and organic carpeting; FXFOWLE only specified rapidly renewable materials for the project. A specialty recycling subcontractor diverted three quarters of all construction debris for recycling, while Citadel also implemented an internal air quality plan that segregated construction work areas with plastic shields in order to minimize dust diffusion.