| The
Solaire
New York, New York
Buildings Home > Case
Studies: Green Buildings> The Solaire
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 heart 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% less energy, a savings
that is potentially worth five points toward the Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEED) energy and atmosphere credit. The footprint
measures 15,000 square feet up to floor 16, while floors 17 through 27
have an 8,000-square-foot footprint. The floor system utilizes 7-inch-thick
slabs in typical building bays of 14 feet by 24 feet. The Solaire used
approximately 10,000 cubic yards of concrete.
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.
To help meet recycled content standards for all applicable green guidelines,
the project team designed a concrete mix to supplement cementitious
content with 18% fly ash for most of the structure. In the
foundation, fly ash was used at 40%, a typical application used to control
the heat of hydration in mat foundations and mass concrete. About 50%
of the total building material was recycled content, and close to 50%
of all material including the concrete, 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 started a new companion
project: a sustainable high-rise residential building that will have concrete
as its backbone and a host of environmental benefits for residents. Construction
will begin early in 2005.
Photo Courtesy: Albanese Organization |
 |
Case Studies:
Cultural Buildings
Educational Institutions
Green Buildings
Healthcare
Hospitality
ICF Buildings
Luxury Residential
Mixed Use
Office Buildings
Religious Structures
Tilt-Up Buildings
| Developer:
Albanese Organization,
Garden City
Architects:
Cesar Pelli & Associates
Architects
SLCE Architects
Structural Consultant:
The Cantor Seinuk Group
General Contractor:
Turner Construction
Company
Concrete Contractors:
Laquila Construction
Century Maxim
Concrete Producer:
Empire Transit Mix |
|
|