Carter's Review

This very handsome, 7-story rental apartment building at 542 West 153^rd Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue in the Hamilton Heights section of Harlem was built in 2017 by the Synapse Development Group and Taurus Investment Holdings on a former parking lot. 

The building, which is known as Perch Harlem, has 34 apartments.

Chris Benedict is the architect.  According to an October 6, 2016 article at dnainfo.com by Amy Zimmer, Ms. Benedict “designed the city’s first affordable rental buildings that met passive house standards: two Bushwick building for the Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council, which runs complexes that are 100 percent affordable.” In 1999 she was named Environmental Professional of the Year by the International Association of Energy Engineers.

Me and General Design is the landscape and interior designer.

It is a “passive house” that meets energy efficient standards.

The mid-block building is across the street from the south side of the Trinity Church Cemetery at the Church of the Intercession.  The site was formerly a parking lot used by the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.

Bottom Line

Because the spacing between the irregularly shaped and sized limestone panels of the façade of this modern “Passive House” building facing the Trinity Church Cemetery in Hamilton Heights is quite thin, this mid-rise, mid-block rental apartment building recalls the elegant and fine craquelure of a rare Sung Chinese porcelain dish. 

Description

The building’s extremely attractive and interesting façade is composed of white panels that are irregularly shaped and sized and varying sizes of rectangular triple-glazed windows.

Because the spacing between the panels is quite thin, the overall effect is quite delicate and mysterious, a bit like the fine craquelure on a Sung Chinese vase.

According to an article at newyorkyimby.com, “the actual cladding on the façade will be made of EIFS, a relatively inexpensive material that mimics stucco, finished with limestone.”

“Like most passive house buildings, an energy recovery ventilation system will help keep the temperature consistent.  ERVs eliminate heat and humidity from incoming fresh air in the summer, and in the winter, they transfer heat from outgoing to incoming air, heating a building in a more efficient fashion than traditional forced air systems or PTACs,” the article continued.

A December 4, 2014 article by Joe Anuta at crainsnewyork.com quoted Tom Bencivengo, a Synapse partner, as stating that the building’s “90 percent goal in reduction of energy consumption puts the passive house standard far above the well-known green-building criteria called LEED, which touts reductions to energy bills by as much as 40 percent.”

A January 27, 2016 article by Liam La Guerre at commercialobserver.com noted the building is “Manhattan’s first multifamily residence that meets standards set by the International Passive House Association (IPHA), a nonprofit committed to high-performance energy building.”

The article said the developers are aiming to make the building “as airtight as possible.” “The permeable concrete blocks that makeup the building will be covered top to bottom with Sto Gold Coat, a sealing formula to stop hot or cold air from leaking.  Triple-pane windows will grace its surface, and eight inches of insulation – about double the amount in normal residential buildings – will be layered on the walls to help lock in temperatures.

The top floor is setback and part of the ground floor has a setback entrance for the garage.

Amenities

The building has a roof deck, a garden, a gym, bicycle storage, storage, a laundry, a virtual doorman system, a common room with kitchen and 18 parking spaces.

Apartments

Kitchens have stainless-steel appliances, stone countertops and porcelain tile backsplashes and washers and dryers.

The building has a ground floor studio, 10 one-bedroom units and 23 two-bedroom apartments.