A pair of 100% affordable housing buildings diagonally across from one another on land adjacent to the St Philip Neri Church. The two buildings accommodate 186 residential units in total. The design considers them as a family of buildings with a strong connection to one another. The scheme breaks down the scale with two basic massings; a lower folded wall up to 9 stories, clad in a light brick, before the setback up to the full 14 and 12 stories, clad in a darker brick, this height necessary to achieve the full allowed zoning bulk and residential unit count. The lower zone is slightly angled on both buildings, a gesture that creates an “embrace” and connects the buildings visually.

The wood-clad entry pavilions of each building are diagonally arranged across the street, inviting people into the residences through these transparent and welcoming structures. The tones and textures are borrowed from the beautiful late 19th century St. Philip Neri church, and the massing strategy honors this local landmark. By stepping down the building massing towards the church, it is given room while pedestrian views to the iconic stone steeple are preserved.

Under construction

Betances Family Apartments in the Bronx’s Mott Haven neighborhood provides 101 deeply affordable homes.  Designed for Lemle & Wolff Development Company, Alembic Community Development and The Bridge, the 15 story, 98,000 sq ft development on NYCHA’s Betances site 6 includes 70 units for low to moderate-income families and 30 for previously homeless individuals, including veterans.

In addition to the apartments which range from studios to three bedrooms, the building features amenities such as a children’s playroom, bike storage, 24/7 building security and a generous second floor community room that opens out onto a landscaped rooftop terrace. The Bridge provides on-site supportive services, including case management, benefits counseling, and links to community mental health, dental, and substance use services. On the ground floor, 10,000 square feet is set aside for commercial use, creating opportunities for local businesses.

Complete

For IMPACCT Brooklyn, a non-profit housing developer, this design is for a 64-unit, HPD-funded senior affordable housing building in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. In addition to the units, which are a combination of studio and one-bedroom apartments, the project includes program support spaces, parking, community rooms and a large rooftop garden for the residents.

Complete

Along with the African American Planning Commission, Inc., Brisa Builders, and Lemle & Wolf; Think! designed a compelling building to serve and improve the Brownsville, Brooklyn community. The project is expected to create approximately 233 apartments serving the formerly homeless, seniors, and families in need of supportive housing. The B’Ville Hub is a two story element comprising commercial spaces supporting local businesses and entrepreneurial endeavors.  

Under construction

A new 142,000 sq ft mixed-use modular construction development with 168 affordable housing units and an array of residential amenities, including two significant community facility spaces.

In design

The client for this project, Community Access, is a highly regarded not-for-profit developer focusing on affordable and supportive housing for people with mental health concerns. This project integrates the affordable and supportive housing residents within a single residential community.  The project consists of 215 apartments within a 170,000 square foot project with ample community spaces and facilities to support mental health programs.

Complete

203 Newport Street is a 180,000 sq ft mixed use project in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn designed for The Bridge,  a non-profit agency specializing in housing and rehabilitative services for people with substance abuse and mental health needs. The development comprises 185 mixed affordable and supportive housing units for low-income families, and homeless veterans. The two residential buildings sit atop a 40,000 sq ft light manufacturing workshop space designed to encourage local start-up companies. The two buildings are linked by shared amenities and a large landscaped courtyard for the residents.

Under construction

Working with a prominent NYC based non-profit, Think! designed a response to a Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) sponsored RFP for a site in the Nolita neighborhood of Manhattan. The zoning resulted in a two building solution on this through-block site between Elizabeth and Mott Streets. Due to the site's current status as a community garden, Think! devised a large landscaped garden open to the public that far exceeded the 5,000 sq ft the RFP mandated and maximized the public space, making it visible and inviting from both streets.

To achieve this transparency the masses of the two buildings were lifted up to second floor level and the necessary entry and retail space at ground floor were designed as freestanding glass pavilions allowing circulation around and through to the garden at the middle of the site. The two residential buildings themselves, which total 67,000 sq ft and accommodate a mix of 116 studio and one bed apartments, are simple masonry structures that relate well to the older neighboring buildings.

Project

The HANAC Corona Senior Residence is a 68-unit Passive House building to house very low-income and formerly homeless seniors. For this 8-story building, we used a collage-like approach in our design and choice of materials in order to visually integrate it into the surrounding low-rise neighborhood. The design approach for this project was defined by the goal of bringing a new paradigm of energy conservation to publicly funded, affordable housing through the robust protocols of Passive House. As the first new senior affordable building in Queens in 30 years, we wanted to reimagine senior living and identified the opportunity to foster a more vibrant and intergenerational community through the creation of shared community spaces between the senior residence and the pre-school on the ground floor.

Complete

Designed for the Malcolm Shabazz Mosque Development Team and Procida Companies, the project includes 109 units of affordable housing across two buildings, a central landscaped garden for the residents, and provides an indoor home for the landmark, currently open air, seasonal Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market; an iconic destination in Harlem.

The new market place will function as a local business incubator and showcase West African crafts, traditional clothing, goods and food. The market hall which spans West 116th Street to West 115th Street will act as a pedestrian arcade at street level between two city blocks, and will create a bustling ‘spine’ that activates and provides connectivity in the neighborhood. The two new 9 story buildings above the market will offer homes that conform to the City’s Extremely Low and Low‐Income Affordability (ELLA) criteria.

The project was awarded in Round 4 of New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Buildings of Excellence, winning the distinguished project award. The program rewards the design, construction and operation of clean, resilient and carbon neutral-ready multifamily buildings.

In design

El Mirador is a mixed use project to be located in the South Bronx combining 130,000 sq ft of retail and community facility space with 878 units of affordable housing, 50,000 sq ft of recreational and cultural space, a major higher-end supermarket, restaurants and a ballet school.  Parking is provided for 800 cars.

A variety of open spaces counterbalance the proposed density and foster a sense of community. The heart of the project is a central plaza animated with kiosks, surrounded by retail spaces, which serves as entry to the residential buildings and hosts a farmer’s market.  A 35,000 sq ft urban farm, located above the retail base, improves the community’s access to fresh foods and provides a sense of well-being for the residents. Stepped terraced roofs at the top of the buildings provide additional planted areas for resident use and contribute to the sustainable performance of the building.  The building’s architectural vocabulary makes use of a wide range of visual textures to reduce the scale of the buildings.

For tenants, it is a multifamily residence that provides attractive apartments with abundant natural light and views in a building that offers a high level of amenity. For the neighborhood it is a striking modern design that provides much needed retail opportunities, parking, public spaces and an island of green in the dense urban fabric.

Project

A 180,000 sq ft affordable and supportive housing development for the Bowery Residents Committee in Hamilton Heights. The development will provide 205 carbon-neutral ready units and includes community facilities, spaces for social and mental health services and a pre-k.

In design

Senior First, Kingsborough

Location
Brooklyn, New York

For Xylem Projects, Omni and Westhab, Think! designed proposals for affordable housing developments for seniors on two sites on New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA)-owned land in Brooklyn, known as Kingsborough and the other as Morris Houses in the Bronx.

Kingsborough has a total of 203 units with a mix of studio, 1 and 2 bedrooms over 121,000 sf and 8 stories the building sits within a heavily landscaped NYCHA campus and was designed to connect with the low-rise character of this Brooklyn neighborhood. Both buildings have shared amenities and community space with extensive landscaping providing external space for residents, including rooftop gardens.

Project

The second of the projects for Seniors First, Morris Houses has 231 units over 155,000 sf and 13 stories. Morris Houses is a typical “tower-in-the-park” campus, where our proposal is a more contemporary interpretation of the vertical slab, in this case as the intersection of two slabs. Both projects are a response to the goal of having our senior population “aging in place” in their own communities.

Project

Newburgh Development

Location
Newburgh, New York

Redesign of a ferry terminal to serve as a gateway to the Hudson River and reconnect the Newburgh community to the waterfront. The design achieves this via multiple view corridors, pedestrian access points, and a new public central space and boardwalk.

The 813,980 sq ft development is located on 9.7 acres and features residential buildings comprising 456 units, all rotated toward the water, emphasizing river views for the residents.

Project

Project details coming soon

Project

A new 120 unit senior housing building in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. Located on a pivotal site at the corner of Fort Greene Park, and on NYCHA-owned property, the design located common ‘living rooms’ at the corner to encourage senior interaction and recreation and utilized two different window types to enliven the facades of this large building.

Project

Think! was commissioned to design a 7-acre mixed-use development on the site of a former psychiatric hospital in Central Brooklyn, as a response to a competitive development RFP. The development consists of two acres set aside for a public park, housing for low-income families and formerly homeless individuals, townhouses, a mental health clinic, a senior residence, an indoor urban farm, a farmers market and various rental spaces for non-profits and commercial entities. In total the complex would include up to 950 residential units and would be built in four phases. This phasing scheme inspired Think!’s urban plan with it’s four quadrants, each with their own landscaped spaces.