Affordability and sustainability in one project
The traditional penthouse has made way for a multi-purpose community room with prime views of Manhattan at an affordable housing development with an innovative approach to sustainable urban living.
Via Verde – The Green Way is a mixed-use, mixed income affordable housing development in New York City’s South Bronx. Designed by world-renowned architects Dattner and Grimshaw, Via Verde underscores how sustainable design and affordable housing can be complementary.
Grimshaw’s Deputy Chairman Andrew Whalley will be in Australia in October to present at The Property Congress on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Whalley’s award-winning architecture includes the International Terminal at London’s Waterloo Station, the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center in New York, and the Eden Project in Cornwall.
“While the aim of constructing Via Verde was to infuse affordable housing with an extra dose of design intention, the project was executed on a construction budget similar to housing that hadn’t received the same level of attention and detail,” Whalley says.
“Ultimately, strategies like prefabrication allowed for an economical approach to construction that didn’t sacrifice design features or intentions.”
Constructed on a brownfield site in view of public transport and a bustling retail corridor, Via Verde comprises 222 apartments in three distinct building types: a 20-storey tower, a mid-rise duplex apartment complex and townhouses.
The development offers both affordable rental and ownership opportunities including rental, owner and co-op units. The ground floor features a community health centre, a retail store and live-work units, creating a lively street presence.
A series of dynamic terraced gardens stem from the centrally-located landscaped courtyard. From the courtyard, a stepped amphitheater leads to a series of roof gardens, creating a landscaped promenade for residents.
“The terraced roof gardens and various public spaces were designed, in part, in response to community feedback sessions,” Whalley explains, adding that they offer “space for growing food, socialising, play and exercise”.
“Growing food on site reinforces healthy living principles that are further encouraged through the availability of an attractive exercise room and a continuous walking path among many of the garden terraces.”
Numerous windows allow natural light into traditionally dark stairwells, making them safe and usable for residents. Many subtle features accommodate New York City Active Design Guidelines which encourage residents to get a healthy amount of exercise and activity.
The project was the winning entry in the New Housing New York Legacy Competition, sponsored in part by the AIA New York and the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development.
Learn why Via Verde is one of the world’s best projects when Andrew Whalley speaks at The Property Congress 2015, from 18-20 October at the Gold Coast. Register today.