A big green zero comes to Brooklyn
Tue, May 11 2010 at 1:33 PM EST
Photos: Courtesy Garrison Architects Although BKLYN Designs is primarily a furniture-and-accessories kind of affair, it was cool to see Garrison Architects, an architecture firm that’s recently been working wonders with green modular design, among this year’s exhibitors. It was especially intriguing to me since a major project in the pipeline (due to be completed late this summer) for GA is ‘Red Hook Green.’ The location of this sustainable, modular manse? Only a couple blocks away from where I live in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn.
This is the second time in a matter of weeks that I’ve caught wind of interesting, eco-minded building/remodeling projects coming to life in my ‘hood, the first being Conover Cottages, a Small House Movement-inspired design contest/restoration project. The 4,000-square foot Red Hook Green live/work space is remarkable in the fact that it will be New York’s very first zero-energy building (ZEB), defined by the US Department of Energy as being “a residential or commercial building with greatly reduced energy needs through efficiency gains such that the balance of energy needs can be supplied by renewable technologies.”
Cool stuff. Among the notable features of Red Hook Green will be plenty of outdoor green space, a ground level allocated for garages/studios/workshops, solar-powered vehicle charging stations, and bifacial solar panels that are able to capture ambient and scattered sunlight unlike single-sided panels. The rooftop solar panels will provide the building with all of its energy needs making it grid neutral. The structure itself, with the stacked prefab modules and warehouse-y brick base, is meant to blend seamlessly into “residustrial” Red Hook, a waterfront neighborhood long defined by stacked shipping containers and brick, Civil War-era warehouses. Okay, maybe it's not the prettiest thing but in terms of aesthetics, Red Hook Green certainly isn't disruptive.
Here's what developer Jay Amato has to say about the project in a press release:
I’m thrilled that Red Hook Green will become a very visible symbol of the continuing reinvention of one of New York City’s oldest neighborhoods. But I’m even more excited that I could practically illustrate the movement towards zero-energy building to the world’s greatest city. Bringing to bear exciting new building materials, improved wind and solar technologies and more energy-efficient HVAC and home appliances, as well as state of the art sustainability strategies, Redhook Green will be a powerful answer to the question of what urban centers can do to reduce our dependency on foreign oil via renewable resources and to significantly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
I'll keep you posted as things (hopefully) move along with Red Hook Green. And welcome to the 'hood!
The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect
the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions,
MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.
WorldShares lets you earn donations for your favorite nonprofit. Earn up to 20 points now.Learn More Earn Points
|
|
Email
Twitter
Stumble
Digg
Share
CLOSE
link:
link:
| Previous Post To protect and preserve | Next Post Coney Island, USA: Thrills, chills and console tables |
clothesline
Posted By windy - Fri, Jun 18 2010 at 10:18 AM ESTyeah it ia a zero energy home, and I bet there will be not a clothesline in sight.
if we want to save energy and be Green, everyone should have a clothesline and throw out their dryers.
The dryer is the biggest waste of energy there is on the planet.