One of the greenest buildings in NYC on one of the smallest building lots.Helder Design designed and developed their new studio space with 2 residential duplexes on top. The footprint of the building is 507 sf, the maximum allowable, which forced the creation of 2 residential duplex units, also the maximum allowed by zoning. Active (PV) power generation was part of the green building strategy but due to still available development square footage for the penthouse and the small footprint, it was decided to place the PV array vertical on the south facing facade, unobstructed due to a playgound park and the fleeting highway on the other side of the street.The highway presence caused the ventilation with heat-recovery strategy to include filtering the fresh air through (near HEPA) MERV 16 filters, providing high quality fresh air and mitigating noise pollution by not having to open windows. The highway oriented low-e windows have also laminated glass to further limit noise. Heating is provided by a 96% efficient condensing tank-less boiler feeding the radiant heated floor. Cooling is provided by the 16-SEER ductless concealed mini split system tied into the ventilation system.All flooring and cabinets are made of rapidly renewable materials, and no VOC paints throughout. Energy Star appliances and lighting.The PV is capable of providing 40% of the electric use of the apartments.The building is aiming for a LEED platinum rating...
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