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
| Mar 21, 2013
Best Firms to Work For: Enermodal Engineering is green to the core
At Enermodal Engineering, there’s only one kind of building—a sustainable one.
| Mar 21, 2013
Are charter schools killing private schools?
A recent post on Atlantic Cities highlights research by the U.S. Census Bureau's Stephanie Ewert that shows a correlation between the growth of charter schools and the decline in private school enrollment.
| Mar 20, 2013
Folding glass walls revitalize student center
Single-glazed storefronts in the student center at California’s West Valley College were replaced with aluminum-framed, thermally broken windows from NanaWall in a bronze finish that emulates the look of the original building.
| Mar 20, 2013
Architecture Billings Index up again in February
The American Institute of Architects reported the February ABI score was 54.9, up slightly from a mark of 54.2 in January. This score reflects a strong increase in demand for design services.
| Mar 18, 2013
Toyo Ito named 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize recipient
Toyo Ito, a 71 year old architect whose architectural practice is based in Tokyo, Japan, will be the recipient of the 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize.
| Mar 15, 2013
AIA opposes House bill cutting Eisenhower Memorial funding
AIA opposes House bill cutting Eisenhower Memorial funding.
| Mar 15, 2013
Singapore R&D campus takes top honor in Lab of Year competition
Singapore CREATE R&D campus takes top honor in Lab of Year competition, sponsored by R&D Magazine.
| Mar 15, 2013
7 most endangered buildings in Chicago
The Chicago Preservation Society released its annual list of the buildings at high risk for demolition.
