flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Precast concrete used for affordable, sustainable housing in New York

Precast concrete used for affordable, sustainable housing in New York

Largest affordable housing development in the nation will provide housing for close to 500,000 people. 


By By BD+C Staff | March 27, 2012
This is the 5th total precast concrete building solution that Blue Sea Developme
This is the 5th total precast concrete building solution that Blue Sea Development, the developer, and Oldcastle Precast have wo

As part of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s $7.5 billion New Housing Marketplace Plan to provide affordable housing for 500,000 New Yorkers, Oldcastle Precast provided structural precast concrete building components for the new development at Forest Houses in New York.

It is part of the largest municipal housing plan in the nation.

The development at Forest House is a “green” and energy saving designed, precast concrete building, manufactured by Oldcastle Precast, containing 124 affordable units available to households making 60% of the AMI or less. The 109,000-sf building also contains a superintendent’s unit, landscaped open space, and 43 underground parking spaces under the first level and features a unique rooftop, commercial greenhouse that will yield 80,000 to 100,000-lb of fresh produce a year and be distributed to residents and local markets in the Bronx.

Oldcastle manufactured 136,162-sf of precast concrete hollow core plank for the floors and roof, which was specifically design to handle the unique load of a roof top greenhouse and 70,000-sf of precast concrete wall panels to construct an energy efficient building envelope for the eight-story Forest House Development building. The exterior precast walls were cast with Glen-Gery thin-brick and sandblast type finish with colored concrete to provide a comprehensive exterior finish.

In addition to the housing structure, a Storm Capture Reuse System was installed to handle approximately 16,000 gallons of captured water. An equipment package treats the captured water making it available for irrigation to the roof-mounted hydroponic greenhouse, providing another unique feature to this environmentally friendly project.

This is the 5th total precast concrete building solution that developer Blue Sea Development and Oldcastl  have worked together on in the past 10 years.

The development team consists of Blue Sea Development Co., Blue Sea Construction Co., LLC, ABS Architects and TY Lyn International. The team was selected due to its history of developing quality affordable housing that is both attractive & sustainable. The project is scheduled for completion December 2012 and is seeking LEED Certification. BD+C

Related Stories

Architects | Jan 4, 2017

The making of visible experts: A path for seller-doers in the AEC industry

Exceptional seller-doers have the ability to ask the right questions, and more importantly, listen.

Building Team | Jan 3, 2017

How does your firm’s hit rate stack up to the AEC competition?

If your firm is not converting at least a third of project proposals when competing for new work, it may be time to reassess your marketing tactics and processes.

Architects | Dec 9, 2016

Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects receives the 2017 AIA Architecture Firm Award

LMSA is the 54th AIA Architecture Firm Award recipient.

| Dec 8, 2016

Paul Revere Williams, FAIA, awarded 2017 AIA Gold Medal

The Gold Medal honors an individual whose significant body of work has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture.

Building Team | Dec 8, 2016

The NYC Public Design Commission recognizes 12 projects with its 2016 Excellence in Design Award

2016 marked the 34th year the Public Design Commission has handed out its Excellence in Design Awards.

Education Facilities | Dec 7, 2016

How corporate design keeps educational design relevant

Learning is a lot like working; it varies daily, ranges from individual to collaborative, formal to informal and from hands on to digital.

| Dec 6, 2016

Workplace pilots: Test. Learn. Build

Differentiated from mock-ups or beta sites, workplace pilots are small scale built work environments, where an organization’s employees permanently reside and work on a daily basis.

Building Team | Dec 2, 2016

Alexandria Real Estate Equities becomes first real estate investment trust to be named a First-in-Class Fitwel Champion

Fitwel building certification was developed to foster positive impacts on building occupant health and productivity through improvements to workplace design and policies.

Government Buildings | Dec 1, 2016

Unlocking innovation in the government workplace

Government work settings ranked the lowest in their effectiveness across the four work modes: focus (individual) work, collaboration, socializing (informal gathering that fosters trust and teamwork) and learning.

Architects | Nov 20, 2016

D.C.’s first distillery-eatery taps into a growing trend

The stylish location targets customers craving craft spirits and late-night dining.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Urban Planning

Bridging the gap: How early architect involvement can revolutionize a city’s capital improvement plans

Capital Improvement Plans (CIPs) typically span three to five years and outline future city projects and their costs. While they set the stage, the design and construction of these projects often extend beyond the CIP window, leading to a disconnect between the initial budget and evolving project scope. This can result in financial shortfalls, forcing cities to cut back on critical project features.



Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021