garrison architects: red hook green

‘red hook green’

‘red hook green’ designed by american firm garrison architects in collaboration with developer jay amato is new york’s first sustainable zero-energy building planned for completion in late summer of 2010 at the red hook section of brooklyn. as defined by the US department of energy, ‘a net zero-energy building (ZEB) is a residential or commercial volume with greatly reduced energy needs supplied by renewable technologies.’ this design follows the ZEB concept as it receives all its energy supply from low-cost, locally available, nonpolluting, renewable sources such as solar or wind power.

a 3-D rendering illustrating the modular assembly and 360 degree views of the structure.

this approximately 4,000 square foot live/work facility houses a single family home, garages with workshop/studio space including solar powered vehicle charging stations, offices and outdoor green space. to generate enough energy for the main building, the design proposal features sanyo’s HIT® bifacial solar panels which capture additional ambient or scattered sunlight to produce more power at any angle and any direction than single sided panels.

structurally, the second floor south wall is kept open to expose the steel substructure and covered in translucent glass to provide overall protection, shading and privacy. meanwhile, the fourth floor canopy allows the overall design to have a more symmetric relationship with the lower structure and simplifies the construction process.

the cross section drawing of the solar panels are lifted off the roof to allow ambient light to be captured as well as under the awning over the fourth floor. 

first in progress 3D rendering of the project attempting to integrate key neighbourhood themes.

the first envisioned design as seen in the rendering above attempted to integrate key neighbourhood themes. the structural support of the modular buildings, the walls for the garage and the green space work to blend with the historical nature of the many neighboring civil war era warehouses. the container-like metal and glass factory-built modular sections pay tribute to the rich steve doring history of redhook.

3d rendering side view

in the evolution of the design, the rooms expanded to 3,964 square feet to accommodate live/work needs and code requirements. the modular structures shifted from a perpendicular orientation to dikeman street to a parallel one. as seen in the final design, solar panels in this rendering are housed on the roof of the top floor.

additional power can range from 0-30% more, and depends on the system design and site characteristics. most system typically achieve around 15 -20% more power with sanyo’s HIT® bifacial solar panels

schematic diagram of power generation and HVAC system

‘red hook green’ is a demonstration of what urban centers can do to reduce dependency on foreign oil via renewable resources and to significantly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. looking at sustainability strategies, ‘red hook green’ illustrates the movement towards zero-energy buildings around the world, applying new construction materials, improved wind and solar technologies and more energy-efficient HVAC and home appliances.

the designs for ‘red hook green’ project will be showcased at brooklyn design 2010.