Come see the real story of what drove the environmental design for this mid-block, reconstructed row house that caused a fair level of controversy. The original structure, designed in the late 19th century, suffered from an unfortunate 1970’s “re-do” resulting in a prison-like façade that was structurally unstable. Add to that the newly enforced floodplain regulations (the house had to be raised), high water table and moisture conditions and jointly owned party-wall contention. If that was not enough, the owners, taking into account that NYC buildings are responsible for 75% of total greenhouse gas emissions, desired to maximize energy conservation – thus following passive house standards. The measures (high R- value insulation, air barrier, high performance windows and doors and heat recovery) combined with urban agriculture features, storm water retention and solar hot water truly make this two-family house in NYC unique.
Floodplain: http://www.fema.gov/mitigationbp/brief.do?mitssId=9932
Environmental Features :http://www.bloomberg.com/slideshow/2014-08-13/just-a-house-that-uses-90-...
Passive House: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/green-building-news/almos...
Status: Built Architect: Thomas Paino
Structural: Dunne & Markis Structural Engineers Passive House
Consultant: Zero Energy Design
Contractor: All Dimension