The building is built to passive house standards in order to use the minimal amount of energy. There is no combustion anywhere in the building. There is no gas line. We are looking to a near future when most of our electricity will be renewably generated. So we use electricity for everything, rather than burning fossil fuel (and needing to exhaust noxious gases).

• European triple-glazed, passive-house-quality windows by Yaro.
• Solar photovoltaic panels are on the roof.
• Electric charging stations are at each parking spot.
• Heating and air conditioning are provided by air-source heat pumps.
• Generous mineral wool and polyisocyanurate insulation.
• Air sealing with Intello+ smart air barrier and Tescon Vana tape.
• Constant replenishment of fresh air through energy-recovering ventilation by Zehnder.
• Eco friendly mineral wool and polyisocyanurate insulation.
• Triple-glazed passive-house-quality windows.

The building structure, including columns, beams, and floorplates, is made from glue-laminated timber. This building material has been beloved for decades, but recent computer controlled fabrication processes have made large-scale timber buildings feasible.

Standard dimensional (softwood) lumber is laminated to make large building components, which are pre-cut and assembled on site, much like a large scale piece of Ikea furniture. Building in mass timber offers several advantages over typical steel and concrete — as a beautiful, clean, and more environmentally sustainable alternative.

• Trees are a renewable resource that sequesters carbon for the life of the building.
• Wood construction requires less embodied energy than high-energy products like concrete and steel.
• Wood is beautiful. Its inherent warmth and texture means we don’t have to cover it up or finish it, resulting in less waste overall.
• When using a CLT system on-site construction is faster and cleaner. Timber components are pre-fabricated in a factory and assembled on site.
• CLT technology is new to NYC, but has been successfully used in Europe for over 20 years.