Carter's Review

This very striking, mid-block building at 210 Pacific Street in the Boerum Hill section of Brooklyn has a bold and asymmetric façade that is composed of more than 13,000 custom bronze tiles handcrafted in the United States.

This jewel-like, 7-story building is scheduled for completion in 2016 by NAVA Companies of which Stewart Osborne, an architect, and David Ruff are partners.

The project is a “Passive House” development that uses triple-glazed windows, extensive insulation, solar hot water system and individual energy recovery units to achieve significant energy savings and sustainability.

A March 15, 2015 article by Alison McGregor in The New York Times noted that “Passive buildings maintain a comfortable interior climate without active heating and cooling systems – that means no more radiators or air-conditioning units for people who live in environments more temperate than New York’s.” 

“This is done,” it continued, “using, among other things, an airtight building envelope and a system that exchanges interior and exterior air, usually an energy recovery ventilator….A house built to passive standards uses less than a quarter of the energy of a traditionally powered home according to the Passivhaus Institute, which developed the standard in Germany.”

The article said that the partners of Nava are architects and “both saw passive construction as the best way to achieve a better designed energy-efficient building,” adding that “they did not build a premium for passive construction into their pricing.”

Avo Construction was the Passive House expert.

Bottom Line

A very modern mid-block building that is distinguished by its bold design and Passive House status.

Description

This building’s metallic façade is highly reflective but its slightly protruding fenestration significantly cuts down its glare with windows of different sizes, widths and heights.

Windows are triple-glazed and fabricated in Germany.

The building has sidewalk landscaping and part of its landscaped roof is visible through a broad opening on the top floor.

Amenities

The building has a garage, private storage, a fitness center, a residents’ lounge, direct elevator access for all apartments, bicycle storage, solar hot water system with electrical back-up and a roof deck.

Apartments

Apartments have 6-inch-wide rift white oak flooring, concealed and integrated window shade pockets, honed statuary marble kitchen countertops and backsplashes, SubZero refrigerators, and Miele dishwashers.

The penthouse is a 5-bedroom unit with 2,777 square feet of interior space and 1,124 square feet of external space and a 23-foot-long living room that opens onto a large terrace and is next to a 15-foot-wide dining room adjacent to the 18-foot-long pass-through kitchen.  There is also a 12-foot-wide windowed corner den and n 11-foot-long windowed home office.

Apartment 6 is a 4-bedroom unit with 3,131 square feet of interior space and 242 square feet of external space with a 25-foot-long corner living room adjoining the 20-foot-long dining room next to a 19-foot-long pass-through kitchen and a 16-foot-wide den with sliding doors to a terrace.

Apartment 4E is a 3-bedroom unit with 1,812 square feet of interior space and 195 feet of external space with a 26-foot-long great room next to a 10-foot-wide pass-through kitchen.

Apartment 4W is a 3-bedroom unit with 1,563 square of interior space and 165 square feet of external space with a 23-foot-long great room and a 9-foot-long pass-through kitchen.