In Far Rockaway, Queens lies a bouillabaisse of Cape Cod bungalows, Victorians, resort lodges, and Mitchell-Lama towers, whose slablike plenty rise out of the sandy peninsula just like the monolith in Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A House Odyssey. In downtown Far Rockaway, Seaside Inexperienced Dunes III, a brand new residential constructing by Bernheimer Structure, shimmers within the solar subsequent to an elevated subway observe that connects the historic seaside group with the remainder of New York Metropolis. The totally electrical constructing delivers 146 reasonably priced models and denotes the third section in a masterplan led by L+M Growth Companions, Bluestone Group, and Triangle Equities to construct a net-zero neighborhood in Far Rockaway. Native Workplace Panorama and City Design, a Brooklyn agency cofounded by Walter Meyer and Jennifer Bolstad, was the panorama architect and Steven Winter Associates the sustainability marketing consultant.
In 2012, downtown Far Rockaway was decimated by Superstorm Sandy. The subsequent yr, AIA New York hosted “For a Resilient Rockaway,” a contest to reimagine Arverne East, a bit of the world that had been notably laborious hit. Metropolis officers had been scratching their heads over what to do, asking: Was new development in a flood-prone space a very good funding? If that’s the case, how might rising sea ranges be mitigated architecturally?
Will Sheridan, a principal at Bernheimer Structure, instructed AN: “Everybody was confronted with the query of what’s resiliency on this context? Is that this a spot the place we needs to be constructing in any respect?” Planners opted to leverage the peninsula, and downtown Far Rockaway was rezoned in 2017, permitting for higher-density buildings like Seaside Inexperienced Dunes III, which might be situated close to the Seaside thirty sixth Avenue MTA Station.
Bernheimer Structure joined the Seaside Inexperienced Dunes III venture group in 2018, after Curtis + Ginsberg Architects designed the 2 different tasks within the masterplan. “We got this type of rhombus-shaped website beneath a subway line that included a transit plaza put aside for public area, a no-go zone for growth,” stated Andrew Bernheimer, founding principal. “The event group’s objective was to construct a constructing that was a lot much less burdensome on public infrastructure. So, it has a major array of PV panels, and the constructing runs on geothermal heating and cooling. It takes benefit of the native subsurface circumstances to assist run the constructing on lots much less vitality than a typical constructing. It’s going to be Passive Home licensed.”
In anticipation of one other pure catastrophe, Bernheimer Structure and Native Workplace additionally applied flood-proof designs like storm swales, porous paving, rain gardens, and inexperienced roofs. The primary ground is lifted 6 ft above avenue stage, and mechanical tools and different important companies are raised above the flood elevation, Bernheimer elaborated. Each facade is public dealing with, a rarity in New York Metropolis. Bernheimer Structure took this under consideration and conceived a well-insulated, tightly sealed thermal envelope with high-performance home windows, doorways, and storefronts. The wings are expressed in stucco that ranges from darkish charcoal to mild grey. Two distinct rainscreen programs had been employed: Corrugated, perforated anodized aluminum paneling shields the parking storage and repair areas, and fiber-cement panels cling to the primary ground.
Sheridan referred to as the parti a “jackknife plan” that responds to the irregular, triangular plot. Two angled wings meet on the website’s northeast nook, the place the principle core and foyer are situated. “As soon as this basic plan configuration was set,” Sheridan continued, “we calibrated the massing and designed a double-loaded hall wing that rises 8 tales. This bulk of the massing has views south of Jamaica Bay. The wing on Seaside Channel Drive is decrease, at 4 tales. This wing addresses and pertains to the adjoining one- and two-family buildings throughout the road, connecting it to the neighborhood.”
