Located at 1070 Anderson Avenue in the Highbridge section of Bronx, NY the design of this Art Deco inspired, 8-story, 46,385 square foot supportive housing development contains 11 studio apartments, 7 one-bedroom apartments, 22 two-bedroom apartments and 1 three-bedroom apartment (Super’s apartment), totaling 41 residential units.  This new building provides much needed affordable housing in the neighborhood.  The building’s community rooms, counseling and discussion spaces, homework and computer lab spaced lend the residents within a safe environment.

The building and its landscape have been designed to meet the particular needs of our client, a New York City Non-Profit that works with victims of domestic violence by providing counseling services, shelter and permanent housing.  Due to the vulnerable nature of the families moving into 1070 Anderson Avenue, permanent housing for survivor’s of domestic violence and their children (50% of the units) mainstreamed with low-income families (50% of the units), the building’s design was to achieve the following goals:

• An architecture that is one of respect to the existing built neighborhood;
• An architecture that is welcoming and respectful to it’s residents;
• From the warm wooden floors of the unit interiors to the large window openings that bathe the interior in light, the open plan of the kitchen/living room spaces, the units are designed to provide a sense of stability and familial cohesion;
• A diverse unit mix , studios, 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom units provide for different family needs;
• Office space and a resident community room on the entry floor accomplish program needs while providing a passive security presence at the entry to the building;
• A landscape rear yard is designed to meet the open space needs of the residents with a toddlers play area, plantings and a deck for relaxation and passive recreation;

The building was built to a fixed budget with a complex combination of public financing (State and City), private financing and funding for the social service programs run by our client to meet the needs of the residents.  With its CMU bearing wall frame and pre-cast concrete plank, the core structure of the building is solid and durable.  Mold resistant 5/8-inch sheet rock has been used throughout for interior partitions.  Wood floors installed over sleepers, ceramic tile bathroom floors and porcelain tile kitchen floors are there not just for their warmth, but also for durability

During the construction of the building weekly meetings with the general contractor, the owner, the state regulating authority and the architectural team insured an attention to detail and a knowledgeable resolution of constructability issues throughout the job.

The building has been kept in scale with its neighboring buildings – multi-family apartment buildings designed and built in the 1920’s – 1930’s.  A modernist façade blends traditional masonry elements with modern metal panels and corner windows, articulating the street face and responding to the articulation of the surrounding buildings.

From inception, the design and construction team used innovative products and techniques in order to build and environmentally friendly building.  The elevator lobbies on each floor have east-facing windows bringing natural light into the public corridor; the green roof on the upper setback address environmental goals and the glass wall demising it from the elevator frames the view of the neighborhood with a pastoral visual “forecourt”; and the materials interplay between traditional and modern.  In order to promote a sense of security, the courtyard was designed without any hidden corners.  It also houses a variety of plants and shrubs native to the New York area. 

This project will apply for the NYSERDA Multifamily Building Performance Program for New Construction, incorporating at least 20% energy reduction and energy efficiency options into the building’s overall design.  In order to fulfill the ENERGY STAR guidelines, the building features a green roof on the setback floor providing an additional insulation layer and reduces the stormwater flow into the public sewers; a high-albedo roof reducing the heat island effect; insulation within the cavity wall reducing thermal bridging throughout the façade; fiberglass windows providing the best thermal performance in comparison to aluminum windows.  Other features throughout the interior of the building include natural, renewable resources, specifically with cork flooring in the office and community spaces and marmoleum flooring in the residential public corridors;  water saving faucets and shower heads; Dual Flush toilets; Energy Star CFL lamps throughout; Kone Ecospec elevators; and low/no VOC paints, adhesives and sealants.