Earlier this month, the City of New York broke ground on the new $18.2 million Marlboro Agricultural Education Center (MAEC) at the New York City Housing Authority’s Marlboro Houses in Brooklyn.
In line with the mission of its nonprofit operator, The Campaign Against Hunger, MAEC aims to strengthen food autonomy and security in underserved neighborhoods. MAEC will provide Marlboro Houses with diverse, community-oriented programs.
Designed by the Studio Gang and built by Consigli Construction Co., the 9,900-sf center will feature a rooftop greenhouse for raising plants and fish. The second-floor greenhouse will serve as a learning lab for schoolchildren and visitors and will help young adults engage with local, sustainable food production. On the ground floor, flexible teaching and community spaces will offer cooking and nutrition classes, among other programs. In the winter, MAEC will host an indoor market.
The building’s large windows and generous sidewalk frontage aim to strengthen connections with the surrounding neighborhood. Entrances on multiple sides create physical and visual connections to the street and surrounding area. A small public terrace and planter garden will encourage visitors to stop by.
Located in a coastal flood zone, the building will be elevated, which also will create opportunities for street furniture. The sustainable design includes passive heating and cooling, solar access, all-electric systems, and rainwater storage and reuse. The project, which targets LEED Gold certification, will use materials with minimal maintenance for a lifecycle of over 60 years.
The MAEC project leverages a design-build project delivery method to remove lengthy contracting from the traditional delivery method that historically has been used for city capital projects, according to the City of New York’s press release. The design-build method also will shorten timelines and increase participation by minority- and women-owned businesses.
On the Building Team:
Project operator: The Campaign Against Hunger
Design architect: Studio Gang
Design-build contractor: Consigli Construction Co.
Landscape architect: Eponymous Practice
Structural engineer: Thornton Tomasetti
Civil engineer: Philip Habib & Associates
Geotechnical engineer: Langan
MEPFP: BALA Consulting Engineers
Greenhouse enclosure design: Prospiant
Related Stories
| Apr 10, 2013
6 funding sources for charter school construction
Competition for grants, loans, and bond financing among charter schools is heating up, so make your clients aware of these potential sources.
| Apr 10, 2013
23 things you need to know about charter schools
Charter schools are growing like Topsy. But don’t jump on board unless you know what you’re getting into.
| Apr 5, 2013
Snøhetta design creates groundbreaking high-tech library for NCSU
The new Hunt Library at North Carolina State University, Raleigh, incorporates advanced building features, including a five-story robotic bookBot automatic retrieval system that holds 2 million volumes in reduced space.
| Apr 2, 2013
6 lobby design tips
If you do hotels, schools, student unions, office buildings, performing arts centers, transportation facilities, or any structure with a lobby, here are six principles from healthcare lobby design that make for happier users—and more satisfied owners.
| Mar 27, 2013
RSMeans cost comparisons: college labs, classrooms, residence halls, student unions
Construction market analysts from RSMeans offer construction costs per square foot for four building types across 25 metro markets.
| Mar 21, 2013
Are charter schools killing private schools?
A recent post on Atlantic Cities highlights research by the U.S. Census Bureau's Stephanie Ewert that shows a correlation between the growth of charter schools and the decline in private school enrollment.
| Mar 20, 2013
Folding glass walls revitalize student center
Single-glazed storefronts in the student center at California’s West Valley College were replaced with aluminum-framed, thermally broken windows from NanaWall in a bronze finish that emulates the look of the original building.
