Sugar Hill Housing
In collaboration with Adjaye Associates, this LEED Silver new-construction 13-story building features 171,000 square feet and 124 affordable housing rental apartments in a mix that ranges from studios to three-bedroom units. A precast graphite façade with rose prints wraps the building in a sawtooth pattern, which is evocative of the neighborhood’s traditional row houses. The alternating pattern of the thermally broken windows provides ample light and air.
A 150-child day-care center occupies the ground level. Surrounding it is a clear acoustic glass storefront on all four faces of the building; residents also have access to an interior recreational courtyard. Eight classrooms, administrative offices, and a commercial kitchen complete this level.
Sugar Hill also houses a 16,000-square-foot children’s museum for art and storytelling that resides mostly underground. High ceilings allow natural light to flood the space from a 60-foot skylight. Polished concrete floors, extensive wood paneling, and acoustic baffles welcome visitors to the three main galleries and the workshop classrooms. Not-for-profit office fronts on West 155th Street and a parking garage complete the program for this development.
All tenants have access to a ninth-floor community room and a roof terrace vegetable garden, as well as the main entry landscaped plaza.
AWARD:
2016 American Institute of Architects Design Awards: Merit Award