Liberty Green & Liberty Luxe Apartments which was designed to LEED Gold certification standards, will employ several cutting edge sustainable technologies.

Battery Park City Comes Full Circle

Nearly thirty years after EE&K’s landmark masterplan for Battery Park City, Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects’ design for the final two parcels of land in Battery Park City, Sites 23 and 24 is emerging from the ground. The Liberty Green & Liberty Luxe Apartments, which are joined at their base, were designed to respond to their context. The western façades are orderly and reserved to address the residential character of the avenue. The eastern façades facing the city have their own identity, expressed by large-scale projections out of the basic massing and larger architectural expressions. EE&K strategically placed the windows and larger openings to take advantage of Hudson River views, ensuring that sunlight coming into the each apartment is maximized. Principal-in-Charge Stanton Eckstut, who was also responsible for the Battery Park City masterplan, described the relationship between the two buildings as “fraternal twins,” “They share a common design identity, but they each possess their own distinct characteristics.” The base of the slender buildings features a 65,000-sq-ft community center, which will allow passersby on the sidewalk will be able to look down into the gym and pool.

Liberty Green & Liberty Luxe Apartments which was designed to LEED Gold certification standards, will employ several cutting edge sustainable technologies. Photovoltaic panels on the bulkhead of both buildings underscore the importance of sustainability within the larger context of the building’s program.

The building plumbing system incorporates a blackwater system to collect water from the buildings and reuse it for toilet flushing and the cooling tower. The exterior features spectrally selective low-e glass with high-visible transmittance and a low-shading coefficient in airtight casement windows. EE&K strategically placed windows to take advantage of sunlight and waterfront views after studying shadow patterns created by surrounding buildings. Occupancy of the concrete-frame towers is anticipated for early 2011, and at that time, Battery Park City will be complete.