Solus4 conceptualises energy-generating vertical neighbourhood in New York City

New York City is the proposed location for an energy-conscious 950ft residential tower, designed by architecture and planning firm Solus4. Marketed as a ‘vertical neighbourhood’, this skyscraping blade comprises 50 full-floor four bedroom plus apartments at approximately 3,000 sq ft each, all of which will be serviced by a high speed destination-selective elevator system. These residential units will sit atop a communal base which includes a number of food and beverage outlets, produce retailers, a range of cafes, and recreation facilities including a gym, swimming pool and museum/gallery space.

The entire complex has been created under Solus4’s Sustainable Neighbourhood Collaborative Initiative principles (SNCI) which ensure that the all members of the design team work in an equal partnership to finalise a plan that is both innovative and sensitive to the site environment. 

Solus4 explains: “The entire structural system, designed by LeMessurier Consultants, is in-situ concrete with flat slabs supported by columns and shear walls embedded in the extruded core shaft leaving large portions of the perimeter free for the 14ft floor to ceiling glass. The exterior glazing makes up one of the tallest proposed hybrid double glazed skins.” 

A cantilevered fin extends from the main volume’s concrete frame, coated with transparent thin film photo voltaic panels. It is thought that this energy-generating system will provide a large percentage of the building’s power demands; some indications suggest that at certain times of the year the energy generated will be surplus to the building’s needs, and may therefore generate additional income for the tower’s residents. Mini turbines will also add to the levels of energy generated onsite, by taking full advantage of the vertical air movement within the building. 

Many new residential city developments look to encourage a reduction in the number of residents using cars as their primary form of transportation by incorporating stations for electric cars within a building itself. Solus4 has gone one further however by excluding parking facilities in their tower, aside from an undetermined quantity of all-electric cars which will be garaged onsite under the common ownership of residents.