Case Study
The Solaire (Manhattan, N.Y.)
Sustainable Development
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The Solaire Sets Standard for Sustainability
Coordination, innovation and concrete make landmark building
possible
Since late summer 2003, hundreds have called The Solaire home.
The nation’s first green residential high-rise building is
just blocks away from ground zero in lower Manhattan’s Battery
Park City, and is the product of a first-ever coordination of three
green-building guidelines. A concrete structural system is at the
core of the environmentally engineered and sustainable building.
The $120-million Solaire stands 27 stories tall with 293 rental
units. A reinforced concrete structural system was chosen in large
part because its thermal mass moderates daily temperature swings
and reduces energy needed for heating and cooling. Among its many
environmental benefits, the building is designed to consume 35 percent
less energy, a savings that is potentially worth five points toward
the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) energy
and atmosphere credit.
To make the project possible, developer Albanese Organization took
advantage of New York State’s Green Building Tax Credit, enacted
in January 2001 to provide assistance to new projects. The Solaire
also follows LEED certification requirements set by the U.S. Green
Building Council (USGBC), and Residential Environmental Guidelines
for New Construction set forth by Battery Park City. The Solaire
is registered with USGBC with intent to become LEED-certified.
Marty Dettling, vice president of Albanese Organization and project
manager for the building, says the combination of private and public
desires to build green gave his company an added incentive to set
a new standard. “We set an example that this is something
realistic, that it can be achieved,” he says.
To help meet recycled content standards for all applicable green
guidelines, the project team designed a concrete mix with 3 to 4
percent fly ash. About 50 percent of the total building material
was recycled content, and nearly 50 percent of all material was
manufactured within 500 miles of the job site.
“The advantages of concrete are tremendous,” says Silvian
Marcus of The Cantor Seinuk Group, structural consultants on The
Solaire. Construction standards in the New York area demand two-day
cycles, and he says concrete can help project teams meet aggressive
schedule goals. “There is no comparison with any other system
in terms of speed of construction,” he says.
With The Solaire a success, Albanese Organization is poised to
start a new companion project: a sustainable high-rise residential
building that will have concrete as its backbone. Construction will
begin early in 2005.
Project Team:
Developer: Albanese Organization, Garden City
Design Architect: Cesar Pelli & Associates Architects
Architects: SLCE Architects
Structural Consultant: The Cantor Seinuk Group
General Contractor: Turner Construction Company
Concrete Producer: Empire Transit Mix
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