The competition for the best project of the residential complex of the office of Nicholas Grimshaw was won back in 2006, at the same time the project was completely finished and agreed with the New York authorities. But the construction lasted for almost five years - the economic crisis did not allow the project to be implemented as quickly as the developer wanted.
The main feature of Via Verde is that housing of different classes is included in one complex - there are townhouses with their own adjacent territory, and cooperative apartments of the middle price category, and the social sector: very inexpensive rented housing, available even to students. In addition, a small office block is located on the ground floors of Via Verde, as well as, in accordance with the needs of South Bronx residents, a supermarket and clinic, a fitness club on the green roof. The authorities and the developer thus took care of the health of residents: in the poor areas of New York there are few department stores where you can buy fresh vegetables and fruits, it is not easy to find a doctor, and overweight problems are very common among the population.
The need to combine several types of housing in one complex prompted the architects to think about combining several volumes - Via Verde is actually several houses of different storeys, which are assembled into a single whole with the help of vertical stair blocks. The starting point is set by a 20-storey tower dominated by small-sized apartments - social housing. The next building with slightly more expensive apartments is several floors lower, and the next one is even lower, and so the height of the house gradually reaches three-story townhouses, which are separated from the main volume by a rectangular arch.
A different class of housing is also emphasized with the help of finishing materials - wood and natural stone appear in the decoration of the facades of low-rise blocks. However, this difference is imperceptible from afar: all facades are designed in a single light beige color scheme with rare splashes of red and orange accents.
The roof of each block is landscaped and can be used as a garden plot for residents, so that from afar, the new residential complex is perceived as a cascade of giant green steps leading to a park built around the house at ground level. All rainwater falling on the roofs is collected, filtered and used in the engineering systems of the complex, and most of the apartments have two-sided orientation, so they do not lack sunlight and natural ventilation. These and other sustainable technologies used in the construction of the Via Verde complex have earned it a claim to the LEED Gold Resource Efficiency Certificate.
A. M.
