For the 700 residents of the Solaire, New York high-rise living is providing a green
culture that has set new standards with New York building agencies. It also shows
the importance of recommissioning to fine-tune efficiency.
Located at 20 River Terrace, The Solaire is the country’s first ever LEED-certified residential high-rise. Designed by the Albanese Corporation and completed in 2003, the building stands 27 stories high and has beautiful views overlooking Battery Park City and the Hudson River. With nearly 300 units, the building today provides an amazing opportunity to live green. The building has since earned LEED Platinum certification and continues improving to provide opportunities for their residents to be environmentally friendly!
I visited the Solaire twice, once on a tour and once because I was close by and forgot to take pictures the first time(lol)
The tour began in the building’s lobby, where I learned how The Solaire was designed with a green mission right from the beginning — which started with the building materials. All materials were imported from within a 500-mile radius in order to reduce transport waste, and after the completion the building was able to recycle 85% of the waste produced during construction.
The tour then proceeded to the basement where I was shown the wastewater system. Part of what makes The Solaire unique is that it strives to reuse and recycle wastewater. The wastewater from bathrooms and kitchens goes through a multi-stage filtration process and is cycled back into use to flush toilets and as makeup water for cooling towers. This not only allows The Solaire to use less water, but also to save and reuse about 50% of the total water it uses.
I then traveled to the building’s green roof, where solar panels help to produce about 5% of the energy used throughout the building. In addition, scattered among the planted grass surface are rainwater collection holes, where storm water drains down to a container in the basement to be cleaned, sanitized, and reused. I found it incredible how all the roof’s features were so carefully conceived and designed to add yet another sustainable feature to the building. The view wasn’t too bad, either.
Finally, I explored two of The Solaire’s units where a number of features contribute to helping residents be green. Low-E glass in the units acts to reflect rather than absorb sunlight, in turn helping with insulation and lowering heating and cooling costs. All the faucets installed also work to help save water, lowering the overall usage of the building. Another perk of Solaire living is that building management provides residents with eco-friendly cleaning supplies as well as access to an environmentally-friendly laundromat, helping them be green even at the most basic level.
Suffice it to say, green living is the name of the game at The Solaire, and it served to impress BPC’s commitment to environmental sustainability.
