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. 

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.