Celebrate NYC: Retrofits for Supportive Resiliency

Join the Building Energy Exchange for Celebrate NYC: Retrofits for Supportive Resiliency.

While many still view high performance building pathways as only accessible to the most privileged, concerted efforts have been taken within the industry to apply these principles to building designs that support more vulnerable communities. A growing body of research shows that these communities are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change.

In 2017, Magnusson Architecture and Planning completed a gut renovation of Selis Manor, a 205-unit affordable housing complex for the visually impaired in Chelsea, originally built in the 1980’s. Improvements range from HVAC, lighting, and envelope upgrades to talking thermostats and bold visual cues provided by high contrast interior paint, designed to empower its residents.

In 2018, the NoVo Foundation—one of the largest private foundations in the world to support initiatives focused on girls and women—opened their new headquarters following a 20,000 square foot retrofit of a vacant industrial building in Downtown Brooklyn. This project breaks new ground in both technical and social justice terms by meeting the rigorous Passive House standard for retrofits, EnerPHit, while simultaneously requiring the construction workforce be at least 30 percent women.

Celebrate NYC is a program series sponsored by National Grid, showcasing some of the most prominent energy efficient building renovations and retrofits included in the Celebrate NYC exhibit, currently on display at the Building Energy Exchange.