Tag: bronx

April 6, 2016

April Forum: Indoor Air Quality

image Most of us spend nearly the entire day in buildings: working, sleeping, eating, and of course breathing. However, when thinking about air quality and pollution we tend to first consider the outdoors and keep the indoors as our safe refuge from smog, allergens, particulates and other contaminants. Since we spend so much time inside, most of our exposure to environmental pollutants actually happens inside our homes, workplaces, and everywhere else we stop in between.   Poor indoor air quality resulting from the presence of chemicals, mold, pests, particulates, combustion gases and lack of ventilation may at times only produce bothersome yet less severe disturbances such as headaches, fatigue, irritation and allergies. But in more vulnerable populations such as children with asthma the long term effect may be recurring visits to the emergency room due to continued exposure to asthma triggers.   In a city with so much old deteriorating building stock, and sometimes questionably constructed new buildings, what can we do as individuals to become aware of these contaminants, demand better, and reduce their ill effects? Join us at the April Forum where a medical doctor, a building consultant, and a public advocate share their wisdom about how better buildings, materials, and daily habits can help us improve the air we breathe.   Date: Tuesday, April 19, 2016 Time: 6:30-8:00pm Place: Steven Winter Associates 307 7th Ave, New York, NY 10001 Suite #1901   Click here to get your ticket!   (more…)

November 17, 2004

Bronx Green Building Boom – November 17, 2004

The Bronx is no longer burning. In fact, it is booming. A growing number of new developments are following green building and energy efficient guidelines, including LEED and New York EnergyStar. GreenHomeNYC and our guests took a virtual green building tour of the Bronx with presentations from Habitat for Humanity, the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (Taino Plaza), and Dattner Architects (Bronx Library Center) on their green building projects in the Bronx. SPEAKER BIOS Craig Graber, Curtis + Ginsberg Architects Craig Graber is a Project Manager for Curtis + Ginsberg Architects, which is involved in multi-family residential, institutional, and commercial projects, as well as urban design and historic preservation. The firm has a strong commitment to environmental and civic responsibility. Craig was the Project Manager for Taino Plaza Affordable Housing in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, an energy-efficient mixed-use building which was recently completed and occupied. Taino Plaza will have the first solar photovoltaic installation in the Bronx. Craig has a Master of Architecture degree from University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania. Craig is currently Co-chair for the AIA NY Chapter Committee on the Environment, which promotes the integration of Design and Sustainability. He is LEED Accredited and active in the green design community. Robin Auchincloss AIA, Dattner Architects Robin Auchincloss AIA holds a Master of Architecture from Columbia University School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning, and a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Urban Studies from Brown University. Robin is a registered architect in New York, and is a LEEDâ„¢ accredited professional. She joined the firm in 1994, became an Associate in 1999 and a Senior Associate in 2003. She is currently the Project Architect for renovation of the New York Public Library Washington Heights branch, and the new Bronx Library Center, which is seeking a LEED certification. She was Project Architect for the Administration for Children’s Services New Children’s Center and Training Academy, a pilot sustainable project for the New York City Department of Design and Construction. The project received a 1999 Art Commission Award for Design Excellence, and was profiled by NYSERDA as an energy efficient building. She has also been Project Architect for the Rodeph Sholom Master Plan and School Renovation, NYC Firehouse Rehabilitations, NYC School Construction Authority Capital Improvement Projects, and the Comfort and Lifeguard Stations at Coney Island Beach for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She was the Associate in charge of the Parkchester Regional Library, signage improvements projects at the World Trade Center and a new Toll Administration Building at Newark International Airport. She participated in the design and coordination of the Rehabilitation of the Queensboro Plaza Station and the West 72nd Street Station for New York City Transit. Previously, she worked for The New York City School Construction Authority on school rehabilitations and for several New York architecture firms on brownstone renovations, an airport competition, transitional and subsidized housing projects, and hospital renovation projects. Daniel Heuberger AIA, Dattner Architects Principal, Dattner Architects Daniel Heuberger holds a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.Arch. from Harvard University Graduate School of Design. He attended the Cooper Union, School of Architecture. He is a registered architect in New York and is a LEEDâ„¢ accredited professional. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects and served on the Design Awards Committee of the New York Chapter. He has been Guest Critic at Pratt Institute and New York Institute of Technology. He won the San Jose Veterans Memorial Competition, and received an AIA Westchester/Mid Hudson Chapter Design Award. Daniel rejoined the firm of as an Associate in 2001 and became a Principal in 2003. He had previously worked for the firm during the construction of Riverbank State Park. He has worked as project architect on the Hudson River Park on Manhattan’s west side and The Bronx Library Center for the New York Public Library. He is the design principal for a number of projects including: the Dwight Englewood School, Intermediate School/ High School 362 in the Bronx, the Queens West and Jackson Heights branches of the Queens Borough Public Library. Other projects include master planning and design of a number of housing projects, such as the Flushing Town Center and Hancock Place Apartments. Prior to joining the firm, Daniel worked for several New York architectural firms. He was a Project Architect for CUNY/Westchester Community College Library, The Solomon Schecter School, the State University of New York/Binghamton, as well as residential and commercial projects. He worked on high rise and mixed- use commercial projects in the U.S. and Asia, as well as laboratory and hospital buildings at the University of Baltimore Medical Center, and Rush University in Chicago. At Richard Meier and Partners, he participated on a residential project which received an AIA National Design Award. Patrick Logan, Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation Patrick is Director of Community Development at the Fordham Bedford Housing Corporation, a neighborhood non-profit with 70 buildings and 1800 apartments under management. The Housing Corporation continues to develop affordable housing and related green space in the Northwest Bronx. Sunari Silva, Habitat For Humanity Green Building Coordinator at Habitat for Humanity – NYC For the past year Sunari has been been working with Kevin Sullivan, director of Advocacy at Habitat-NYC to set up a Green Building Program which focuses on Making Habitat – NYC’s homes more energy efficient through: Partnership with Nyserda’s EnergyStar program, Building healthy homes with a high indoor air quality Using sustainable building methods and materials in all our homes. Sunari has been been working to set out Habitat’s Green Building Program agenda, overseeing our EnergyStar program, setting up a set of in house guidelines to make our homes more healthy and eco friendly, researching and finding eco friendly and sustainable alternatives for the conventional building methods and materials, networking and building relationships with other Green organizations with the intention of conducting eco friendly projects to build eco-awareness in our community. She is an Architectural graduate from The Sri Lanka Institute of Architects and the Architecture department at The Pratt Institute in New York City with work experience in the field here and abroad.