Virtual Pro Tour: North America's Largest Affordable Passive House

Exterior of Park Avenue Green neighborhood

Event Date: 

Friday, November 6, 2020

Venue: 

Online

$20 members/$25 non-members

CEUs: AIA 2.0 LU/HSW; PHIUS 2.0 credits

 

This virtual Pro Tour offered participants a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most ambitious PHIUS+ projects in New York City: an innovative fifteen-story building providing 154-units of sustainable housing. NESEA  worked with hosting firm and Passive House consultant and verifier Bright Power to offer this follow-up event to 2019's sold out tour of this site.

About the Event

Through a mix of presentation and small group breakout rooms, we used a format that preserves the interactive, behind-the-scenes vibe that has made NESEA’s Pro Tours so popular.

Unlike a traditional webinar, attendees came with their mics and cameras on: as a participant in this event, they were able to see and hear other attendees, ask content experts questions directly, and meet new people in the NESEA community

About the Project

Officially known as Park Avenue Green, the building provides much needed low-income housing to the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx while incorporating state-of-the-art building technology to create a community of environmentally comfortable homes. The ground floor also houses a 4,300-square-foot community facility for a not-for-profit, providing affordable studio and gallery space for local artists.

Along with its highly insulated and thoroughly sealed building envelope, the design incorporates storm resiliency features and includes cogeneration, an extremely efficient variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heating and cooling system, and an array of photovoltaic panels on the roof.

Omni New York LLC’s Park Avenue Green is a proud winner of the Buildings of Excellence competition, administered by The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA).
 
The Buildings of Excellence Competition recognizes and supports the design, construction and operation of low-carbon-emitting multifamily buildings. The competition was launched in March 2019. The first round of competition awards were announced in October 2019, with $18 million awarded to 28 projects.

Omni New York will use the award to implement Bright Power’s MoBIUSⓇ real-time energy management service at Park Avenue Green, North America’s Largest PHIUS+ Certified Passive House building, in the Bronx. They also are implementing MoBIUS at their neighboring property, Morris Avenue Apartments, which is LEED Gold Certified.

Virtual Handouts

Click here for a case study that provides an overview of the Park Avenue Green Project.

Click here for an overview of Curtis + Ginsberg Architects. 

Schedule

12:30

Event begins! Welcome from NESEA, project host, & series sponsors.

12:35

Opening remarks from representative from series sponsors ZipSystem & NYSERDA

12:40

Project overview presented by event host Bright Power

1:00

Breakout groups. Participants are split into virtual breakout rooms, each hosted by a member of the interdisciplinary project team. Team members will go into depth about their specific work on the project. Speakers rotate through breakout rooms – all attendees get small group time with each speaker.

2:00

Participants all brought back as a full group for Q&A panel with all speakers

2:30

Event concludes

 

If you have questions about this event, you can contact Florence at fmacgregor@nesea.org.

Event Sponsors

2024 Pro Tour Series Sponsors:

Presenting Sponsor