After Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Haven Plaza, an affordable housing complex, lost all electricity. This left residents, many of them elderly, without elevator service, heat, or water. In an effort to prevent this from happening again, a new $9.89 million natural disaster-resistant infrastructure building has just broken ground and associated resiliency upgrades are being added to the existing housing complex known as Haven Plaza.
Located at 212 Avenue C at East 13th Street, the new building will offer 2,080 sf of space. It will include three gas boilers for heating steam on the second level; electrical meters, domestic hot water pumps, and hot water heaters on the first level; and oil backup storage in the protected sub-grade space. The new building will allow Haven Plaza to be self-sufficient in case of another natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy, as well as during normal operations. The building is being built in a heavily trafficked area in the East Village. As such, it will be aesthetically pleasing and use a glazed façade that allows people to view the equipment within.
The new building, designed by CTA Architects, will incorporate 1,300 sf of glazed curtain wall, 1,500 sf of metal façade panels, and 500 sf of green wall. Poured-concrete floors with poured-concrete walls allow for a column-free space that can accommodate the large equipment that will be housed within. 15 100-ton-capcaity poured-concrete underground pilings will be incorporated into the foundation system due to the low bearing quality of the soil.
“We specified three poured-concrete columns that expand vertically throughout the height of the building, for visual impact. They take the form of ‘fins,’” says CTA Principal Craig Tooman, AIA, LEED AP. These fins will work as columns and will support the concrete slabs, lift the entire structure 5 feet above the flood plain, and allow for the fully glazed facade along the avenue. The location of the site’s underground utilities, which have to be protected, dictated the fins’ size and placement.
The surrounding green space will be landscaped with plants that are both drought-tolerant and capable of surviving in seawater should the area flood again.
Haven Plaza, which is owned by Haven Plaza Square, an affiliate of the Association of New York Catholic Homes and the New York Institute for Human Development, includes 371 affordable rental units across its 460,000-sf complex. Upgrades to these existing buildings include raising many elements of the electrical system, upgrading the elevator systems in the three high-rises with flood sensors, and installing new wiring and platforms for portable power generators in all three buildings.
Related Stories
Resiliency | Nov 16, 2023
How inclusive design supports resilience and climate preparedness
Gail Napell, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, shares five tips and examples of inclusive design across a variety of building sectors.
Codes and Standards | Nov 10, 2023
Washington state building codes to protect structures from wildfire provoke controversy
New building codes in Washington state intended to protect structures from wildfires are provoking backlash from builders, cities, and environmentalists. Critics charge that the rules that are scheduled to take effect March 15 are confusing, will increase housing costs, and could cause too many trees to be cut down.
Sustainability | Nov 1, 2023
Researchers create building air leakage detection system using a camera in real time
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a system that uses a camera to detect air leakage from buildings in real time.
Resiliency | Oct 19, 2023
Jacksonville unveils 50-year strategy for resiliency to flooding, extreme heat, wildfires
The City of Jacksonville, Fla., recently released plans for Resilient Jacksonville, a 50-year resiliency strategy to reduce the risks from flooding, hurricanes, excessive heat, and wildfires, and to respond better to those events. The plan includes ways to stop the St. Johns River from flooding vulnerable neighborhoods, including those prone to flooding during heavy rain or hurricanes.
Engineers | Oct 12, 2023
Building science: Considering steel sheet piles for semi-permanent or permanent subsurface water control for below-grade building spaces
For projects that do not include moisture-sensitive below-grade spaces, project teams sometimes rely on sheet piles alone for reduction of subsurface water. Experts from Simpson Gumpertz & Heger explore this sheet pile “water management wall” approach.
Urban Planning | Oct 12, 2023
Top 10 'future-ready' cities
With rising climate dilemmas, breakthroughs in technology, and aging infrastructure, the needs of our cities cannot be solved with a single silver bullet. This Point2 report compared the country's top cities over a variety of metrics.
Building Materials | Oct 2, 2023
Purdue engineers develop intelligent architected materials
Purdue University civil engineers have developed innovative materials that can dissipate energy caused by various physical stresses without sustaining permanent damage.
Resiliency | Sep 25, 2023
National Institute of Building Sciences, Fannie Mae release roadmap for resilience
The National Institute of Building Sciences and Fannie Mae have released the Resilience Incentivization Roadmap 2.0. The document is intended to guide mitigation investment to prepare for and respond to natural disasters.
Codes and Standards | Sep 25, 2023
Modern codes, construction techniques saved structures in Maui wildfire
Modern building codes and construction techniques were effective in saving buildings from the devastating wildfire in Maui on August 9th, according to a recent report, IBHS Early Insights Lahaina Fire—2023, from the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety’s research division.
Mass Timber | Sep 19, 2023
Five Things Construction Specialties Learned from Shaking a 10-Story Building
Construction Specialties (CS) is the only manufacturer in the market that can claim its modular stair system can withstand 100 earthquakes. Thanks to extensive practical testing conducted this spring at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) on the tallest building ever to be seismically tested, CS has identified five significant insights that will impact all future research and development in stair solutions.