Vidaris is currently providing exterior wall, roofing and waterproofing consulting and monitoring services for The Hayworth, an 18-story condominium building with a four-story, 25,000 sf retail base on the corner of 86th Street and Lexington Avenue. Rising 210 ft tall, the new development will contain 63 units as well as a rooftop terrace and other amenities including a private library, children’s playroom, studio and gym space. Its facade is composed of limestone cladding, over-sized windows and dark metal elements. Vidaris was additionally requested to provide additional job site monitoring for the installation of the insulation, cladding and windows, including caulking, as well as both energy code compliance consulting and energy code progress inspections to help meet NYCECC.   Rendering: HOK Architects

The “Centrale”, designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli, is Ceruzzi Properties’ first luxury supertall residential condominium tower in Manhattan. As exterior wall consultants, Vidaris took an active role in designing the various components of the exterior wall, monitoring visual and performance mock-ups of wall assemblies, as well as monitoring fabrication and on-site erection of wall panels. The 64-story tower encompasses 270,000 gross square feet, with 4,588 square feet of retail at the ground level and 124 condominium units above. The terra-cotta infused glass façade, staggered setbacks, and geometrically shimmering screen wall along the podium grant this project a unique aesthetic in an ever-changing Manhattan skyline. Vidaris also provided energy code progress inspection services for the project.

This glazed terra cotta clad residential tower is comprised of 172 condominium and rental apartments in a 26-story tower atop a 6-story podium with retail space. The facade features deeply recessed windows and the podium features a large terrace at its top. At the pinnacle of the tower is a three-story/triple-height loggia surrounding mechanical spaces. Vidaris’ various disciplines collaborate synergistically on this project. Vidaris consulted on the energy performance implications of the façade, HVAC and lighting in the context of Zone Green, LEED and the NYC Energy Code. For facades and roofs, the Energy group collaborated closely with Vidaris’ Envelope group to develop cost-effective, energy-efficient solutions. The Envelope group provided consulting during design, and inspections during construction. Using THERM, Vidaris modeled the thermal performance of each of the components of the exterior wall, from spandrel panels to columns to party walls. These values were then used in energy modeling, where options included among others:

• Enhanced envelope performance
• Condensing modular boilers
• High efficiency water source heat pumps
• Several options for combined heat and power (CHP) plant (cogen system) with capacity rating from 100 - 200 kW

Vidaris’ sustainability services include full LEED Project Management from initial goal setting sessions to detailed credit reviews, LEED specification, submittal reviews, and preparation/coordination of the LEED submissions to the GBCI. Included in the LEED scope are highly efficient MERV 13 filters for individual apartments, stormwater detention tank for resiliency benefits, and a vegetated roof terrace. Additionally, Vidaris’ sister company, LPI, provided commissioning and Energy Code Progress Inspections.

Vantage, a new luxury 448-unit waterfront rental building by Fisher Development Associates and s9 Architecture, rises 45 stories into the Jersey City skyline. The building’s signature glass-curtain wall building features a sixth-floor amenity deck and 5,000 sf of retail space at its base. Vidaris provided full building envelope consulting and monitoring services for the development in addition to energy and green consulting.

This was the first of several phases for Flushing Commons. This project is mixed use with a 600-unit residential tower, 420,000 sf of commerical office and retail space, a 62,000 sf YMCA and 15,000 sf of community facility space, and a 1,600-car parking garage. It is a LEED v3 C+S project. Vidaris helped Rockefeller Group achieve 15.3% savings. Our scope included energy analysis for LEED, Energy Code and NYSERDA incentives. It was cofounded by NYSERDA’s NCP. We were under contract with Perkins Eastman, the Architect. LEED consulting was performed by Taitem Engineering.   Photo Credit: Copyright Andrew Rugge, Courtesy Perkins Eastman

The new 400,000 sf building will include the following components: Ambulatory Surgery Suites, Endoscopy, Pain Management, Cancer Center, ENT, Urology, Women’s Center, Satellite Radiology, After-hours Urgent Care, Cardiology, Orthopedics, Neurosciences. Scheduled to open in 2020, the facility will be the largest ambulatory care center in Brooklyn, providing world-class patient care and helping to meet the growing demand for the treatment of cancer, diabetes and hypertension, in addition to a range of other innovative outpatient services. Vidaris’ services included envelope consulting in conjunction with also providing energy analysis for NYSERDA and LEED. NYSERDA cost shared the energy analysis to support incentives for achieving higher levels of energy efficiency. The measures included in the final design include:

• Additional insulation for above grade exterior walls, roofs and underground walls
• High performance glazing
• Low-power Lighting Design
• High-efficiency Lighting Controls (e.g.Vacancy Sensors, Daylighting & Bi-level controls)
• Chilled water system
• VAV air handling units
• Variable fans and pumps
• Demand controlled Parking Garage ventilation
• Regenerative braking for elevators

Additionally, Vidaris performed the analyses and prepared to documentation for the energy credits for the project’s LEED rating. In the end, Vidaris helped the project achieve energy savings of 13% relative to the LEED baseline.

The new University Forum hosts academic conferences, meetings, and symposia, featuring a state-of-the-art 430-seat auditorium as well as additional break-out and meeting rooms, faculty offices, and open gathering spaces. The auditorium is clad with a prefabricated concrete skin, whereas the offices have a glazed façade allowing in daylight. The transparent ground floor is both conceptually and physically open to the public. Following our shop inspections for the fabrication of the aluminum curtain wall, Vidaris became actively involved with monitoring the installation of the exterior wall at the job site, observing the embeds, the precast concrete panels and windows, the aluminum curtain wall, the glass fiber reinforced concrete, and the steel and glass canopy. Vidaris has performed energy modeling (a) to help the team meet the green guidelines of Columbia University, with 25% energy cost savings required, (b) the efficiency needed for LEED Gold and (c) NYC Energy Code compliance. Vidaris also led the effort to obtain the LEED Gold rating, providing initial direction for the sustainability effort, and during the entire course of the project, overview of the detailed work performed by its subconsultant, e4.   Photo Credit: Pavel Bendov Photography

Located on an elevated shoreline in Astoria, Queens, Halletts Point Building One is the first of seven buildings in a 2.4 million square foot development which features residential rentals, a supermarket, retail, esplanade, parklands, community use facilities, and renovated playgrounds. Vidaris’ façade consultants assisted the Owner and Architect on the exterior envelope. Vidaris’ sustainability team investigated the Enterprise Green Communities and LEED ratings, with the project settling on the latter. We provided full LEED Project Management services, ranging from initial goal setting sessions to detailed credit reviews, LEED specifications, submittal reviews, and preparation/coordination of the LEED submissions to the GBCI. Vidaris provided technical guidance on some of the more complex LEED credits, including preapproval of naturally ventilated spaces as an alternative compliance path for the minimum indoor air quality performance prerequisite. Our professionals collaborated on the integrative process, blackwater treatment and reuse for indoor flushing, selection of products with environmental product declarations, and material ingredient reporting. We also assisted the project team in achieving innovation credits, including sustainable wastewater management. Additionally, Vidaris at the request of the Owner, conducted advanced materials research and compared materials on the basis of environmental health.

Located in the East Rail Yards (ERY) section of Hudson Yards, a 17 million square foot development, this project incorporates layout flexibility and terraces, optimizing the workspace environment. Along with 55 Hudson Yards, Vidaris serves as the LEED/energy consultant for the Office Tower C (LEED Platinum), and Office Tower A, Residential Tower D, Mixed Use Tower E, the Culture Shed and the Retail Podium - all LEED Gold. Vidaris also provides the LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) consulting for the entire Hudson Yards site. Vidaris assisted the design team in increasing the energy efficiency of the tower by analyzing several measures, notably:

• High efficiency glazing with lower U-Value and SHGC-value
• Lower lighting power density in core and shell spaces and exterior areas
• Heat recovery of exhaust air
• High efficiency water-cooled DX air conditioners
• High efficiency condensing boiler

Vidaris’ LEED consulting has included documentation support of such measures as:

• A 25,000 gallon stormwater retention tank, with reuse for cooling tower makeup and irrigation
• A Measurement & Verification program for energy -related systems using metering equipment, the Building Management Control System (BMCS), and a calibrated energy model, to provide ongoing accountability of energy and water consumption
• High efficiency (MERV 13) filters for ventilation system outdoor air intakes
• Tenant guidelines including requirements for an organic waste management system for restaurants and cafeterias, to meet NYC Local Law 146 (Commercial Organics Law)

Vidaris also provided energy modeling for Energy Code compliance and support for the NYC Local Law 84. The energy efficiency and LEED work was cost-shared by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

The Shed is part of the Hudson Yards development, the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States and the largest development in New York City since Rockefeller Center. The Shed is nested partially into the base of the residential 15 Hudson Yards and has been designed for flexibility and accommodation of a broad range of festival and artistic activities. It is composed of two spaces: The fixed building has galleries and performance spaces. A movable, expandable shed creates, as needed, either a completely enclosed, conditioned space for performances, or a semi-outdoor space. Vidaris has been collaborating with the design team and client since the Schematic Design phase, providing (a) LEED analyses, (b) energy modeling for LEED, (c) energy modeling to demonstrate compliance with the NYC Local Law 86 that requires 25% savings in regulated energy cost and (d) compliance with the NYC Energy Code. Vidaris has also performed analyses on moisture condensation for the entrance lobby. These analyses used a combination of Computation Fluid Dynamics and conductive heat transfer analysis. The building features numerous innovations in both the design process and actual design. For the process, modeling of a building with a movable section has been especially challenging. The major design innovation is the movable shed, with the challenges posed by enclosures and HVAC. The Shed takes advantage of Hudson Yards site-wide sustainability initiatives (landscape irrigation, access to open space, etc) and makes its own push for LEED-Gold. Heat island effects are reduced through reflective roofing and paving materials and water efficient fixtures such as high-efficiency toilets and pin-flush urinals. Stormwater collected from the roof and site will be reused for cooling tower makeup. The building will be highly efficient, estimated to save over 25% in regulated energy cost, and over 15% in total energy cost – the latter being a difficult achievement, given the constraints posed by a movable section, the large energy used by exhibit lighting and the energy used by performances that will be held in the movable portion (when deployed) . It will have a highly insulated envelope, transparent plastic “pillows” that admit daylight into the movable shed while ensuring a good insulating value, low density general lighting, daylight harvesting, and efficient chiller/boiler plant.