Big picture - Passive towers protect vulnerable Bronx seniors

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Betances Residence is a passive house classic-certified residential development located in the Bronx, New York City that provides supported housing for vulnerable and homeless senior citizens in what is now a thriving majority Hispanic community.

Comprising two eight-storey towers with 152 units and around 10,000 sq ft of community space and amenities, this development had to meet a very challenging brief, and the team behind it has not only ticked all the right boxes, but executed it in a way that has surpassed expectations for energy efficiency, comfort and air quality.

The brief

The commissioning of Betances is the result of a collaboration between the New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and Breaking Ground, a non-profit organisation that builds high-quality permanent and transitional housing for the homeless using both public and private funding.

The RFP (request for proposals) for the development on what was an open parcel of land owned by the City of New York was awarded to CookFox Architects, a local firm that specialises in mainly large-scale projects, most notably St John’s Terminal, Google’s 1.2 million sq ft headquarters in the city, and the 55-storey Bank of America Tower. The firm had previously worked with Breaking Ground on another supported housing project, the Hegeman in Brooklyn back in 2010, but for both organisations, Betances was their first experience of building to certified passive house standard.

The case for passive house

Aside from the energy savings, CookFox’s director of communications, Jared Gilbert, points to two of the biggest benefits of passive house for the residents of Betances: better air quality and superior acoustic insulation.

Located close to some of the busiest state and interstate highways in the city, the South Bronx has one of the highest asthma rates in the United States.

“I don't know if it's more noisy than other neighbourhoods, but we often think of quiet as kind of a luxury product in New York City,” said Gilbert. “One of the benefits of passive house is that because you have to create an envelope that's so tightly sealed, you get really good acoustic performance.” He added that while taking pictures of some of the residents, the woman sitting at the window said: “I love this building. It's so quiet in here.”

Gilbert says the challenges of achieving passive house certification were complex “given the constraints for economy, construction sequencing and ambitions for architectural experience for a multi-unit design”, but a closely aligned team led by consultancy Steven Winters Associates, Monadnock Construction, and a steadfast client enabled them to achieve it.

A sense of permanence

The architecture along 143rd Street in New York City is very varied, with early 20th century brick-built town homes and some later 1920s and 1930s apartment buildings next door, not to mention high-rise public housing nearby.

A neat design touch that enhances the sense of permanence of Betances is the use of deep window recesses, creating stronger shadows that bring a feeling of solidity and heft that apes older buildings but without the need to build walls that are thick and heavy.

Many later 20th century buildings tend to have very flat facades that may not age well.

“Our expression of the depth of our exterior wall is meant to reinforce the idea that this building will be lasting and permanent,” said lead architect Darin Reynolds. “When someone has not had a home of their own for many years, that sense of protection and permanence is important.”

Aging gracefully

When someone has not had a home of their own for many years, that sense of protection and permanence is important.

Above the ground floor level, Betances is clad in zinc, which aligns with the aim of using natural materials as much as possible as well as being relatively inexpensive.

“The zinc we used on this project is pre-weathered, meaning that it come with patinated or oxidized surface, which causes its light, warm grey colour,” said Reynolds.

“Over time, with additional weathering, the surface should darken slightly. This natural process allows the building facades to age gracefully and beautifully. It will look as good, or better in the future.”

Connection with nature

The use of zinc as a material that will age gracefully over time is but one example of the extensive application of biophilic design in Betances.

Others – often done in conjunction with active design strategies to support health and wellbeing – include encouraging movement and activity by making the path through the building easy to navigate, lining it with plants and natural materials, and adding windows to the egress stairs to bring natural light and encourage the greater use of the stairs.

“As the building kind of took shape and began to be planted, we noticed that the neighbours started replanting the own backyards, with similar plants and things that we were using in these courtyards,” said Gilbert.

“So, I love that idea that the building can make an impact on the neighbourhood in a positive way, and that there can be a relationship between not just the people, but the landscape in this building.”

The power of universal design

Given its central purpose as a building for senior citizens, it’s no surprise to see lots of examples of universal design, but they are all executed in a way that makes them feel integral parts of the building, such as the discreet handrails along the ramp walkway.

“The large entry ramp is a way to allow users with mobility issues to enter the building in the same way as someone without mobility issues,” said Reynolds.

“The idea is that the experience is shared. By including natural materials and patterns, along with access to daylight and views, it actually elevates the experience of entering the building and makes it special for everyone.”

Gilbert adds that anytime he’s in the building for tours, most people tend to take the ramp rather than the stairs simply because they enjoy it more.

“There's a slow descent towards that big glass where you're looking into the courtyard, so you just have this immediate connection to nature to the garden that's at the centre of the building and, as you sort of circle around that bend, you feel enveloped by the space.” ‘We got it right, here’

Brenda Rosen, president and CEO of Breaking Ground, says Betances meets a new standard for housing quality that everyone deserves, not just those who can afford it.

“Whenever we begin a project, we approach it from the perspective of the tenants who will call the building home. People experiencing homelessness deserve quality and sustainability in their housing, and we aim to ensure that people who are living with mental illness, long periods of homelessness, and other disabling conditions have everything they need to get and remain stable for the long term. And here we are also working with seniors, bringing another layer of complexity by ensuring that people can age-in-place in the community for as long as possible. One of my colleagues with deep experience opening our new projects said it best at the Betances ribbon-cutting: ‘We got it right here.’ I could not agree more.”