Breaking Ground, The Schermerhorn

The building’s structural rhythm and textural quality express the interior organization of the program into small residential units. Twenty studio units and a suite containing four single room occupancy units with two shared bathrooms and a common kitchen define each of nine residential floors.

The building’s two faces respond to the contextual duality to the north and south. Five translucent channel glass tower elements define the primary façade, providing a dignified luminous presence facing the dense urban fabric of downtown Brooklyn. 

The building’s channel glass façade is fabricated with a high percentage of post-consumer waste glass and Low-E glazing to enhance overall thermal performance. Additionally, the second floor green roof terrace serves to minimize heat island effect. Energy efficient systems and materials are incorporated throughout the building.

The south façade’s horizontal banding of glass and cement board panels hovers above a landscaped roof terrace on the second level, which effects a transition to the low-scale residential neighborhood beyond.

Visible from the street are four steel trusses, which cantilever the building over subway tunnels directly below, structurally isolating the structure. The panelized glass and aluminum façade minimizes the load on the trusses, while enhancing daylighting within the building.

Housing single adults transitioning out of homelessness, persons living with HIV/AIDS and low-income community residents, with a preference accorded to those employed in the performing arts and entertainment, Schermerhorn House provides a comprehensive support system that helps people regain lives of stability and independence.