Apartment Remodel | 113 West 136th Street, Harlem, NYC

Zoning vs. Need:

While shortages of housing in New York City has been the case, nearly since inception, the new shortages created by the shifts in demographics (low birth rate) and an influx of middle class jobs, over the last 16 years has created a new poor: middle income residents unable to afford adequate housing. While many have chosen to resolve this by more and more single adults sharing units designed and built for families, we believe that the lots in question in this competition, are an ideal location for the City to experiment with housing aimed at our changing demographics.

While the rate of (private) development has somewhat kept pace with the rate of population growth since the millenium, the chasm between what is available vs. what’s needed is revealed when considering changing demographics, in particular, adult only household growth: Holding all other factors equal, the changes in the demographics alone between 2000 and 20016, the city would have needed to have created an additional 113,000 units than it did, for the housing shortages to have remained unchanged since the millennium (State of NYC’s Housing & Neighborhoods 2017, Furman Center, NYU).

In many cases, these adult-only households are ones that are most in need of intervention. By definition, this growing population lacks the social structure, and safety net, that family-life provides. With pressures both from the economy, and the environment, the development of city lands needs to focus more towards micro-housing: using the least amount of land and resources for the greater good of the most number of people.

Sustainability

To address these issues, we focused on several factors:
1. Build smaller footprints. We are proposing a 7 unit development. This four–story building would allow for a walk-up building which would in-turn maximize the energy savings provided by sustainable mechanical systems.

2. Specified lights, and appliances that require a lower energy load.

3. Used triple glazing on the south façade with transparent thermal insulation which allows the thermal heat gain in winter to be used in a time-delayed fashion.

4. Used quadruple glazing with an integrated prism system on the North Façade which allows the thermal heat gain in winter to be used in a time-delayed fashion. The prism system furthermore keeps from the interior spaces to become overheated in summer.

5. A roof-mounted photo-voltaic system that offsets the buildings’ energy expenditure. The photovoltaic panels are mounted such that they are facing the south façade and maximizing solar gains.

6. Balconies are set in to the façade of the building: one of the greatest luxuries we can offer New Yorkers is access to private, outdoor space. But both NYC zoning laws, as well as issues relating to shadows cast from protruding balconies make these spaces impossible or undesirable. Our recessed balconies provide for access to the outside while not protruding beyond the building envelope, or casting shadows on the façade.

Building for the Future

Additionally, in order for a building to be sustainable, it needs to address not only current needs to mitigate climate change, but provide residents with tools to live in, and manage a changing climate as the building ages. Most housing units in NYC are more than 50 years old today, and the average age of a HUD building is 50. As such, we believe buildings by the City in 2020, should be forward-looking enough to anticipate the needs of residents, in 2070+.

The New York City Panel on Climate Change has the following projections for 2080 (Annals Of The New York Academy of Sciences, 2015):
• Mean annual temperatures are projected to increase by 5.3 to 8.8 degrees F.
• Mean annual precipitation is projected to increase by 5 to 13 percent.
• The frequency of heat waves is projected to triple
• Extreme precipitation days are projected to increase by approximately one and a half times more events per years.
• Deaths from heat waves are already a concern in lower-income neighborhoods

With imminent rising temperatures, and an increased frequency of heat waves, we believe creating opportunities for passive cooling is as critical as considering current energy loads and low-energy heating.

The section shows a rift in the floorplate at each unit created by creating a raised sleeping area at the façade. The space below allows for cross ventilation of the units, and allow for passive in the summer months. An integrated airbox would also incorporate a fan and airheater so as to heat/cool air as needed.

We propose to collect rainwater discharged from the drains in the building, and use as much as possible for local needs such as the flushing of toilets and watering of plants in the front and rear yards. (Plantings will be selected to be able to absorb as much water as possible). The remainder will flow into the storage tank located in the basement, and slowly be released into the sewer systems so as to mitigate the overwhelming of these systems during periods of heavy rain.

Interior Spaces

The most sustainably important thing is to create spaces people want to come home to. The average apartment is 327 square feet, yet we wanted to provide amenities that would rival any other unit. The apartments each have a 10’-0” ceiling, at most of the living space. Yet we chose to elevate the sleeping area so as to be able to use floor to ceiling windows that are about 8’-0” high thus providing for savings while allowing for maximum daylight. The space underneath provides for cross ventilation by allowing air to enter the apartment, and leave via a louver at the entry.

We designed flexibility into key moments of the space. We used the long axis of the apartment into which to build most uses and storage. Sliding panels in the floor and ceiling allow for flexibility between the kitchen and living spaces. And a desk has a rotating panel which folds out when entertaining for upto 5 people.

The apartment has ample storage – millwork, made of maple and white metal mesh is built in to provide ample space for storage and comfort.