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NY1 about Modular Construction

 

By: Monica Brown

Modular construction may soon catch on in the city, but a Brooklyn factory has been building homes, floor to ceiling, for 16 years. NY1’s Monica Brown filed the following report.

 

Modular construction can have a house almost entirely built in a factory. The pieces are brought on trucks to their final destination, and the finishing touches can be done on-site. This method could mean big cost savings for the Big Apple, where experts say construction costs are skyrocketing.

“Housing is becoming out of reach for too many New Yorkers,” says New York Building Congress President Richard Anderson. “And if this could bring down the cost somewhat, then a significant sector of the New York City population might have a chance to buy or to rent an apartment.”

In Fort Greene, Brooklyn, Capsys Corp. has been building modular homes for 16 years in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Its affordable housing units, assisted living facilities, hotels and more other buildings are dropped off at sites in all five boroughs and beyond.

Company officials say the average savings can be 5 to 20 percent with modular construction, and that business has been picking up a lot in the last several years.

“Some of that is because we’re coming out of the recession and we’re seeing more activity, but a lot of is it really is just catching on. We like to say that we’re the oldest brand-new idea in construction,” says Tom O’Hara, the director of marketing at Capsys.

Forest City Ratner Corporation might also be trying to change minds. It announced last year that it may look to build the world’s largest modular tower at Atlantic Yards in Brooklyn. The company declined to be interviewed for this story.

But New York Building Congress officials tell NY1 that project, and other modulars like it, might go a long way toward helping to keep New York’s building industry competitive.

“Innovation in the construction industry is always important because we’re the highest cost construction market in the country, and we are encouraging our members to look for ways to economize, to look to do things differently, and in a better way,” says Anderson.

http://www.ny1.com/content/ny1_living/real_estate/170975/bit-by-bit–builders-come-to-appreciate-modular-construction

 

Ashburton Ave. Project Receives LEED Gold Status!

H2M designs 49-unit prop. for The Richmond Group; Langan Eng., Monadnock, S. Winter assist

 
110 Ashburton Avenue - Yonkers, NY
 
 

 

110 Ashburton Avenue - Yonkers, NY

 

 

 

 

 

Yonkers, NY H2M architects + engineers designed a multi-story, multifamily property for The Richmond Group Development Corp. at 110 Ashburton Ave. The undeveloped site has now become a building with 49 residential units.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) completed its final review of the building confirming the building has LEED Gold status for its design, development and construction. The building actually has two new labels: LEED Gold Certified and Energy Star.

A traditional design would include insulation on the interior structure of the building only and not both the inside and outside. What makes this design green and sustainable is the design of various levels of insulation in the building envelope-both the wrap and the building cavity where insulated to control air infiltration and heat loss and to continue the air barrier across both the inside to the outside. The windows are equipped with high-efficiency glazing that controls heat loss and gain. The design called for a white roofing system with high solar reflectance properties and high-efficiency mechanical systems and finishes with high levels of recycled content.

H2M was the architect and mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer and the structural engineer on the project and partnered with Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, Forum, and Capsys Corp. Monadnock Construction was the general contractor on the project and Stephen Winter Associates was the green building consultant.

http://nyrej.com/57252

NYREJ, Westchester County, August 28 – September 10, 2012

 

See Also:

http://www.capsyscorp.com/nextlevelbuilding/?p=182

http://www.capsyscorp.com/nextlevelbuilding/?p=701

http://www.capsyscorp.com/nextlevelbuilding/?p=639

Modular Supportive Housing Website!

We are happy to announce our new website specifically focused on Modular Supportive Housing!

http://www.nysupportivehousing.com/

 

Daily News about Nehemiah Spring Creek

Spring Creek Nehemiah is an affordable housing success story in East New York 

 

The development off Flatlands Ave. is home is home to 233 first-time homeowners who won the right to live there via lottery.

 

By / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Friday, July 27, 2012, 11:43 AM

 
The Spring Creek Nehemiah development in East New York  has provided affordable houses and apartments to the many residents of the community.

Aaron Showalter/for New York Daily News

Spring Creek Nehemiah is East New York is one of the city’s great housing success stories. Already, 233 first-time owners have moved into these well-designed townhomes.

 

Linda Boyce says it happens all the time. People turn off Flatlands Ave. in East New York, Brooklyn, and slowly cruise Linwood, Vandalia, and Egan Sts. They look around, admiring multi-colored boxy houses with big backyards, private driveways, and patches of front gardens.

“Someone always asks ‘How can I live here?’ ” says Boyce, a member of the first Homeowner Association at Nehemiah Spring Creek, one of the city’s largest affordable homeowning developments and a national model for affordable housing programs. “That makes us proud. We work hard to keep this neighborhood clean and safe. Sometimes I forget I’m in Brooklyn.”

In what is the city’s newest neighborhood, Spring Creek Nehemiah (as residents call it) is home to 233 first-time homeowners who won the right to live at Nehemiah in a lottery sponsored by the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, a major partner in the project. They applied to the lottery more than five years ago, some as many as 17 years back. Soon, 50 new owners will move in. Five parks, a supermarket and EMS station will be finished upon plan completion.

NEHEMIAH27BPW_2_WEB

Aaron Showalter for New York Daily News

From left, proud Nehemiah owners Milagros Gerez, Walja Moody, Linda Boyce, organizer Grand Lindsay, Roxanne Thomas, Elizabeth Daniel, and Dawn Brown.

Built in partnership with East Brooklyn Congregations and designed by architect Alexander Gorlin, Nehemiah is composed of prefabricated one-, two- and three-family homes assembled at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Homeowners put down as little as $8,000 to purchase their houses, which ranged in price from $158,000 to $488,000.

PHOTOS: An insider’s guide to New Lots Ave., Brooklyn

When completed by 2016, over 1,525 new homes and apartments will be built on these streets tucked in behind Related Companies Gateway Plaza Mall, Belt Parkway, and two state parks opening by 2014. In September, three new schools will open on a $75 million campus constructed by the Department of Education.

Boyce and her fellow homeowners are part of phase one. They work hard daily to ensure their streets, homes and neighborhood stay safe and clean.

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Aaron Showalter for New York Daily News

Linda Boyce shows off her kitchen in a Spring Creek Nehemiah home.

As you enter the area dominated by the Nehemiah prefab houses, it has the feel of newness. It’s cleaner than a hospital. On a quiet and hot Saturday, it feels like a movie set. But life lives inside these homes. Some people have pools, others gardens and outdoor patios with Southern smokers. People on the streets say hello to one another. They stop to talk about meetings, fairs, the new school and construction phases

Grant Lindsay, an organizer for East Brooklyn Congregations (EBC), knows a tight-knit neighborhood has more power combating local problems.

“Our job just doesn’t stop when people move in,” says Lindsay, who has helped EBC members empower themsleves in Brownsville, East New York and Bushwick. “That’s when it starts. We help work together to achieve their needs. Often big government and landlords take advantage of people. We don’t want that to happen. At Nehemiah, we want to build a strong community. This is a place that looks out after each other and is proactive in seeking change. A home is just a home. A neighborhood takes relationships.”

NEHEMIAH27BPW_5_WEB

Aaron Showalter for New York Daily News

A row of three-family houses on the edge of the development. Construction on phase-two homes has already began. Fifty new homeowners will move in shortly.

Block by block, Lindsay works with homeowners to set up monthly meetings. Already they have rallied to make crossing Flatlands Ave. safer for seniors and worked to establish a relationship with the Academy for Young Writers, the high school moving from Williamsburg to East New York this fall.

“We make things happen ourselves,” says Roxanne Thomas, owner of a three-family house. “I live across from an empty lot where they are going to build. People used to ride dirt bikes there. It was noisy. I worked with police to ask them to leave. The block is quiet again.”

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(At left, two-familyhomes have bay windows and modern stoops; Photo: Aaron Showalter for New York Daily News)

Dawn Brown lives across the street from a football field that serves as a practice and game-day facility for Thomas Jefferson High School. The single mom jokes about her master bedroom being the “mistress bedroom.” Taking pride inside and outside the home, Brown cuts the grass along the practice field fence herself.

“It just looks better,” she says. “We want this to be an inspiration for the entire area. You won’t see spray paint here. You don’t hear loud music. People respect each other here.”

More than respect, homeownership in Spring Creek Nehemiah reaches spiritual heights.

Homeowner Elizabeth Daniel got burned in a Canarsie foreclosure scandal, losing a down payment. Her grandmother instilled in her the goal of homeownership. She started saving again, and received word in 2010 that she had won the right to own a home in Nehemiah. Daniel lives in a two-family with her husband. She loves the bay window and placement on her home on Vandalia St.

“Every day I stop for a moment to thank God for being here,” says Daniel, who works in higher education. “I’m going to make the most of it. We’re going to make sure this place is the best it can be.” Walja Moody came to New York from Alabama. She forgot she applied for a Nehemiah home until 14 years later when the application arrived.

“I had just been divorced,” she says. “I was head of the household and thinking, ‘How am I going to do this?’ ” she says. “It’s very fulfilling to be part of a community that is growing and evolving. We are all in this together here. We are not rich people. These homes and this neighborhood are our lives.”

A philosophical architect with a conscious, Alexander Gorlin was aware of the importance architecture would have in the community. He and his firm have been working on the project for 12 years. Gorlin’s take on the updated brownstone for middle-class New Yorkers was honored in an exhibition on prefab houses at the Museum of Modern Art. It feels “heartening,” he says, to walk Nehemiah today.

“You feel the power of architecture at work creating a beautiful place for people to live,” says Gorlin. “There is such attention to detail, like that in a wealthy person’s home, that in ways it confirms that the people who live here are important. All the homes are not alike. They allow for individuality in a communal setting. I think that helps it work.”

Boyce, who has a corner one-family across from the new school, redesigned her kitchen with granite countertops and custom-made cabinetry. She redid her floors a darker wood.

“I had a niece come to visit, and from the outside she said it looked so small,” says Boyce. “When she came in, she couldn’t believe how big it is. When the school opens, it will be wonderful to hear children laughing and playing. We’re working to see how we can help them.”

Set to open in September, the educational structure will house three schools: the Academy for Young Writers, where 60% to 80% of the students live in East New York and Brownsville; the Spring Creek Community School, which starts at sixth grade, and P53K for special-needs students. The high school’s principal, Courtney Winkfield, sees a link between the neighborhood and the school.

“We chose to be in this neighborhood,” says Winkfield, whose school was formerly housed in a Williamsburg walkup with electrical wiring so old multiple computers couldn’t power up. “Not only is it where our students live, it’s a place with strong spirit. We’re discussing mentorship programs to stay connected to our neighbors. The people at Nehemiah are pioneering a new area.”

For EBC, the drive for quality housing and empowered community is constant.

“The homes we build are named after the Old Testament figure Nehemiah, who helped rebuild Jerusalem after it had been destroyed,” says Lindsay. “With each home, we try to embody that same spirit of hope in the face of despair. It’s ironic. This is one of the signature achievements of the Bloomberg third term, but the mayor hasn’t been here. We hope he comes to see this.”

YOU SHOULD KNOW

What: Nehemiah Spring Creek, an affordable housing success story in East New York. Phase three homes start at $190,000 with about $10K down.

Where: Near Gateway Plaza Mall off Flatlands Ave. Take the 3 train to New Lots Ave. and the B6 to Nehemiah Spring Creek near Linwood St.

How: Go to nyc.gov/hpd for lottery info. For more on East Brooklyn Congregations, go to ebc-iaf.org.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/spring-creek-nehemiah-affordable-housing-success-story-east-new-york-article-1.1123089?pgno=2#ixzz226l0rWYB

 

See also:

http://www.capsyscorp.com/nextlevelbuilding/?p=814

 

 

Housing Built in Record Time

Modular construction delivers model for New York Housing in record time

Building Design + Construction Magazine

 

A 65-unit supportive housing facility in Brooklyn, N.Y., was completed in record time using modular construction with six stories set in just 12 days.

 
330 MacDougal Street, Brooklyn, NY. 85 modules forming 65 studio apartments and

330 MacDougal Street, Brooklyn, NY. 85 modules forming 65 studio apartments and the supporting public areas, stair towers and elevator shaft of five residential levels above a site-built first level. Client: Concern for Independent Living, Medford, NY, Architect: DeLaCour & Ferrara Architects, Brooklyn, NY.

 

 

 

Concern for Independent Living, a New York-based non-profit group providing supportive housing was in need of a new housing facility in Brooklyn, N.Y., for low-income individuals recovering from mental illness. Using modular construction allowed the project to be completed in record time, quickly transforming the property into a residence with 65 studio apartments.

The development of this program included the demolition of the existing building and the new construction of the MacDougal Street Apartments. The new building is the first Single-Site Supportive Housing Program in New York State to utilize modular building techniques and provides a model for modular construction in supportive housing.

The MacDougal Street Apartment complex is located on the site of a former residential program for adolescents, which closed in 2005. The buildings on the property remained vacant and boarded up, becoming a neighborhood eyesore until the property was purchased by Concern for Independent Living in 2008. The vacant structures were demolished to make room for the newly constructed six-story building.

Eighty-four modules were constructed off-site at Capsys Corp.’s manufacturing plant at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The factory-controlled process moved the construction off site to bring the order and control of an assembly line, minimizing construction waste and site disturbances. Starting with the fabrication of the structural elements, components were added to the modules as they moved through the factory. Windows, doors, MEP systems and fixtures, and trims were all installed along the line. The modules were then wrapped in protective materials and moved to temporary storage awaiting their trip to the building site to become part of the building project.

Project Summary


Number of modules: 84
Number of stories: 6
Installation time: 12 days
Square footage: 29,850

While the site was being prepared and the foundations constructed, Capsys was simultaneously fabricating the modules. When the site was ready, so were the modules. A large hydraulic construction crane was staged at the site, modules were transported in a systematic order to the crane hook and modules were quickly stacked and welded creating a unitized structural whole assembly. The erection process happened so quickly that all six stories were installed in just 12 days.

The project was funded by NYS Office of Mental Health and designed by DeLaCour and Ferrara Architects. This apartment building provides safe, affordable housing and on-site supportive services, incorporating many of the latest advances in construction techniques and sustainable features such as Energy Recovery Ventilation, Photovoltaic technology for power generation and substantial reductions in energy use.

Residents enjoy their own studio apartment with private bathroom and kitchenette. The building includes a fitness center, computer room/library, laundry facilities, several lounges, and outdoor recreational areas.

When Concern for Independent Living purchased the site, they promised to improve the neighborhood by developing an attractive building that is an asset to the community; increasing employment opportunities; encouraging the stability, self-sufficiency and productivity of adults living with mental illness; and increasing affordable housing opportunities for disabled men and women. This project has succeeded in achieving all of these goals.

“We are proud to have companies like Capsys Corp. as members of the Modular Building Institute,” said Tom Hardiman, executive director.  “With their help, we are changing the way the world builds.”

To see the full article go to:

A few words about Capsys in ‘Building and Construction Northeast’

 
Article by Kathryn Jones
‘Building and Construction Norheast’
 

Few, if any, companies can say they built a luxury hotel in less than one year, but that’s exactly what Capsys Corp. of Brooklyn, N.Y., did in 2005. The 30-unit Harborfront Inn features oversized soak­ing and whirlpool baths, spacious showers with floor-to-ceiling porcelain tile and body jets, and balconies overlooking the Peconic Bay and Shelter Island.

Modular construction enabled the 25,000-square-foot Harborfront Inn to be erected on short schedule, Capsys Gen­eral Manager Bill McShane says. “We produced the [51] modules in about four months of production,” he recalls. “The construction process took eight months.”

Each module is constructed at Capsys’ Brooklyn factory and designed to interconnect when welded together on site, essentially fitting together like pieces of an enormous jigsaw puzzle. Once that process is completed, contractors put on the exterior finishes and perform mech­anical, electrical and plumbing connections that are fed between the modules.  

“We typically get involved during the schematic design process and become an integral member of the project team,” McShane notes. “One of the things that sets us apart – even from other manufacturers that do similar work to what we do – is our knowledge and ability to work with the general construction, architecture and engineering industries closely to understand the way the building will be built, while incorporating our efficient manufacturing process in with that.”

Although standard field construction con­tinues to be the most popular building method, the advantages to modular build­ing are many, McShane points out. For instance, each of the modules is thick-sided, fully enclosed and 90 percent com­pleted before it is delivered to the job site. 

“Being able to construct these units within a factory environment offers a level of supervision and quality control that is unmatched in field construction,” he says. “Within the 300 feet of our production line, we are able to monitor and oversee everything from welding of the structural steel frame to the electrical wiring and routing of plumbing piping to finish of the dry wall and installation for cabinets, doors and hardware.”

Constructing the modules in an en­closed factory environment prevents common field construction hindrances such as poor weather conditions, vandalism or theft. “As a consequence, a modular construction project can be completed much faster,” McShane remarks. 

“The fact that site work, such as putting a foundation in, can be done simultaneously as we’re producing the modules means the time spent completing the building is compressed greatly,” he adds. “As a side note, our attention to detail and our in-house value-engineering and estimating allow us to give very solid pricing early on in the schematic design phase.” 

Green and Cutting-Edge

Modular construction has become in­­creasingly popular in a troublesome eco­n­omy where owners want a quick return on their investments and seek to have buildings constructed as soon as possible. As a result, modular buildings are still in demand, even in a recession. “Currently, we’re involved in building a large amount of affordable housing,” McShane notes. 

Brooklyn’s 330 MacDougal Street is a 65-unit supportive housing project for Concern for Independent Living, a fit group focused on providing housing support for the needy in New York City and Long Island. The six-story, 29,850-square-foot structure utilizes the latest advances in construction techniques, which is something McShane says Capsys is known for. “We pride ourselves on being up to date and knowledgeable about building codes and regulation, upcoming technology and innovations in energy efficiency,” he states. 

For instance, 330 MacDougal Street features energy recovery ventilation and photovoltaic technology for significant reductions in energy consumption. “The construction industry as a whole is moving into the sustainable lifestyle, but modular construction has been green all along,” McShane says. “Our meth­ods and materials used, and our overall process reduces the impact on the environment greatly.”

Capsys has produced ENERGYSTAR townhouses and LEED Silver buildings, and often incorporates green building components such as geothermal pumps, energy-efficient lighting fixtures, low-VOC materials, low-flow plumbing fixtures and composite insulation systems. 

“Some of the materials we use in our modules – which are steel-framed, non-combustible modules – are inherently recycled,” McShane says. “As a company, we actively recycle all of our waste gypsum board, waste steel and cardboard packaging. We’ve been doing this as a regular course of business, not as a reaction to the green trend nationwide. It’s just the way we do business.”

Located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Capsys was founded in 1996 by Pres­ident Nick Lembo to build Nehemiah II, 700 homes for the Nehemiah Housing De­velopment Fund Co. The company’s unique approach to this project earned it the “Build New York” and the U.S. De­p­ar­tment of Housing and Urban De­ve­l­o­p­ment’s “Innovation in Housing” awards. However, its use of modular construction posed a unique challenge in that it built homes faster than land could be­come available, McShane says. 

“In the interim, we started doing other projects ranging from townhouses to multifamily buildings to hotels,” he re­calls. “By the time we finished those 700 homes, we were already specialized in a number of different project types.”

Capsys continues to pace itself and seek new applications for modular construction to ensure that it will continue to operate efficiently when the housing market improves.

“I see student housing as a market that is not as susceptible to the ups and downs of the overall housing market,” McShane says. 

“Because of the speed and efficiency of modular construction, we are able to meet the needs of a client when they need student housing built in a short period of time. We actually have a design that is flexible and already prepackaged for residence halls; we can go from an initial concept to completion within 12 months – I think that’s unmatched anywhere in the construction industry.”

http://www.buildingandconstruction-northeast.com/index.php/sections/profiles1/342-capsys-corp

A Ribbon Cutting Officially Opened The MacDougal Street Apartments

June 1, 2012, 7:00 a.m. EDT

Concern For Independent Living Opens The MacDougal Street Apartments, a New 65-Unit Supportive Housing Project in Crown Heights, Brooklyn

 
 BROOKLYN, N.Y., June 1, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Concern for Independent Living, a leading nonprofit provider of supportive housing, held a ribbon cutting today to officially open The MacDougal Street Apartments, bringing an innovative supportive housing development and more than a dozen new jobs to the Brownsville section of Brooklyn.The project was made possible by support from the NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH), NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York, Astoria Federal Savings, Richman Housing Resources, and New York City.The 65-unit MacDougal Street Apartments is located on the site of a former residential program for adolescents, which closed in 2005. The buildings on the property remained vacant and boarded up, becoming a neighborhood eyesore until the property was purchased by Concern in 2008. The vacant structures were demolished to make room for a newly constructed six-story building.Built using modular construction techniques, The MacDougal Street Apartments is the first of its kind in New York State. Eighty-four modules were constructed off-site at Capsys Corp.’s manufacturing plant at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and transported to the project site for “stacking” on the building’s foundation. This technique quickly transformed the property into a residence with 65 studio apartments for low-income individuals recovering from mental illness. The residents include formerly homeless individuals and persons exiting OMH’s state residency system. All units are wired for high-speed internet access, cable and telephone. The building features multiple lounges, a computer room, exercise room, dining hall and outdoor gardens.When Concern purchased the site, they promised to improve the neighborhood by developing an attractive building that is an asset to the community; increasing employment opportunities; encouraging the stability, self-sufficiency and productivity of adults living with mental illness; and increasing affordable housing opportunities for disabled men and women. This project has succeeded in achieving all of these goals.”When you remove an eyesore building, replace it with beautiful housing and create 18 new permanent jobs, there is good reason to celebrate,” said Ralph Fasano, Executive Director of Concern for Independent Living.

“The MacDougal Street Apartments does all of that as well as create a beautiful and supportive living environment. I want to thank our partners in government and our not-for-profit and for-profit lenders for making this dream a reality,” he said.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner/CEO Darryl C. Towns said, “The measure of a society is how it treats those who are most vulnerable. Under the leadership of Governor Andrew Cuomo, HCR is working within the Medicaid Redesign Team to find better ways to address the medical and social issues of Medicaid’s highest-need clients. Supportive housing has been shown to improve the overall health and well-being of these individuals, helping advance their independence through stable and safe environments. We are proud to be part of the MacDougal Apartments project and part of transforming the lives of the 65 people who will call it home.”

Office of Mental Health Commissioner Mike Hogan said, “Housing is a basic need for everyone. For people with mental illness, safe, decent and affordable housing is the foundation upon which recovery is built. Concern for Independent Living has demonstrated an ability to operate outstanding supported housing services. With this project, Concern will help start 65 more individuals on that path to recovery.”

The total development cost for The MacDougal Street Apartments was $21.7 million. Financing included 4% Tax Credits issued by New York State Homes and Community Renewal, a grant from the New York State Office of Mental Health, and an Affordable Housing Program grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York.

Concern for Independent Living, Inc. is a nonprofit agency committed to helping low income persons and persons with disabilities to live in the community with dignity and enhanced opportunities through the provision of housing and support services. Concern is one of the largest housing agencies of this kind in New York State, currently serving approximately 700 individuals and families in over 200 locations. Concern offers a variety of housing options with individualized support services designed to support personal growth and independence.

Contact: Ralph FasanoExecutive DirectorConcern for Independent Living, Inc.631-758-0474rfasano@concernhousing.org

SOURCE Concern for Independent Living, Inc.

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

 
‘The Wall Street Journal Market Watch’; “Concern for Inpdependent Living Opens The MacDougal Street Apartments, a New 65-Unit Supportive Housing Project in Crown Heights, Brooklyn”; June 1, 2012;

Building 92

A premier NYC construction manager recognizes the use of modular construction as an innovative construction technique.  Capsys is pleased that Plaza Construction has featured the use of modular construction in a presentation of the Building 92 project.

 Building 92 – YouTube Video

 

Modular Construction to be considered for new Cornell Campus on Roosevelt Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cornell out to push construction frontiers

3:46 pm, May 24, 2012

BY SARAH TREFETHEN

 

Cornell hopes to deliver four new campus buildings by 2017, if funding and costs work out as hoped.

When the Bloomberg administration set out to bring a new applied sciences campus to the five boroughs, the goal was to introduce a source of innovation that would help New York City’s economy remain competitive in the 21st century.

Now, as Cornell University moves forward with plans to construct a $2 billion engineering campus on Roosevelt Island, innovation remains the project’s watchword.

That trailblazing philosophy will extend to awarding construction and design contracts for the planned two million s/f on new space, according to Kyu Whang, the university’s vice president for facilities service.

Modular, pre-fabricated construction is “absolutely” an option for the project, Whang told attendees of NAIOP’s “Building the Future of New York City” forum earlier this month.

“If it’s an innovative way to do construction, then certainly we’ll consider it on our campus,” he said, responding to a direct question about the controversial practice of staging some construction work for a project in an off-site factory.

Modular building is still uncommon in New York, but Forest City Ratner plans to start construction on the world’s tallest pre-fabricated steel building in Brooklyn this year.

Whang’s comment was in keeping with one of the themes that emerged during the morning-long event, held overlooking the World Trade Center construction site: the idea that New York City builders are out of date.

Seth Pinsky, chairman of the Economic Development Corporation, said that the city’s building methodologies were “decades behind” other cities in the world.

Even by national standards, New York construction may be too slow and costly to attract some industries, said Pat Di Filippo, executive vice-president of Turner Construction.

Di Filippo described the pressures of time and efficiency faced by a major technology company like Apple or IBM (a Turner client) when launching a new product.

“Construction, facilities — those are just a drag on the bottom line,” he said.

Fast, efficient building is one of the things Cornell will be looking to accomplish on Roosevelt Island.

The Ithaca-based ivy school is contractually obligated to deliver two buildings by 2017, but it has a more ambitious goal. If funding and costs work out as hoped, Whang said, Cornell hopes to complete four buildings by that deadline.

Cornell is looking for a developer to enter into a partnership to construct its second Roosevelt Island building, a research and development facility. That developer will need to be comfortable with Building Information Management (BIM) software, Whang said.

Construction professionals are not the only people Cornell wants to push into new frontiers. Architect Thom Mayne of Morphosis is designing the first piece of the campus, a 150,000 s/f, net-zero energy academic building.

Mayne, who was behind the Cooper Union academic building at 41 Cooper Square, is expected to deliver the first design drafts in November 2012.

The university expects the design to break from the academic tradition of long corridors of offices and classrooms, and instead create a building of open, collaborative space with very few private offices, Whang said.

While resistance from tenured faculty can prevent universities from experimenting with floor plans, Whang said, there is an advantage to launching a completely new academic program on a completely new campus.

“We’re building the building before we have the faculty,” he said.

 

‘Real Estate Weekly’; “Cornell out to push construction frontiers”; Sarah Trefethen; May 24, 2012;

http://www.rew-online.com/2012/05/24/7243/;

Greenflex Residence Hall System

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cars are built in a controlled environment and are customized to meet the end-user’s needs and requirements.  At Capsys, with our Greenflex residence hall system we apply the same concepts!

We start with the basics; what are the student housing requirements, what does the school need and when do they need it?

 We go to the next step; what is the culture and what are the features we need to incorporate into the Greenflex system?

 We finalize a plan; let’s combine the requirements, the schedule, the culture, the features and of course the budget. 

 A plan is born;  All this done and the Greenflex design becomes unique but budget and schedule conscience!

 We get it done!  That’s the end result, the Greenflex system from Capsys gets the job done!  No need to worry about where the students are going and what the cost is, let’s do it together with this innovative Greenflex system!  It’s built to your needs, based upon your budget and on your schedule!