All Work

Audubon, Bethune Gardens, and Marshall Plaza

New York, NY

A comprehensive renovation, redesign, and sustainability upgrade elevates three high-rise New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) developments located within one block of one another in Upper Manhattan, all with tenants in place. The renovation brings vibrant façade rainscreen over-cladding to Marshall Plaza, enlivening the Washington Heights neighborhood while providing sustainability, along with interior insulation and façade repairs at Bethune Gardens and Audubon, both designated as historic buildings. Completed under NYCHA’s NextGen RAD/PACT program, upgrades to building systems and 558 units complement redesigned grounds and residential public spaces with enhanced accessibility and security. Community, daycare and senior centers are also modernized, improving resident services.

A holistic approach reintegrates the developments into the fabric of the surrounding communities with design measures scaled to the unique needs and features of each site. Marshall Plaza’s community of older adults is brought together in accessible common areas redesigned to serve an aging-in-place population, with improved access to the senior center in the cellar, street-facing sitting terrace, enhanced landscaped resident garden with adult exercise equipment and surfacing. At Bethune Gardens, home to many older adults and people with mobility impairments, a new direct link between the entrance lobby and the grounds in the rear improves access to this reimagined outdoor amenity. Landscape design is inspired by the residences’ rich cultural and natural context.

The energy efficiency afforded by new windows, cladding with rainscreen and interior insulation, replacing and insulating all roofs, converting to electric cooking and HVAC, and installing low-flow plumbing fixtures, reduces energy usage and enhances the health, safety, and comfort of occupants.

• Size: 450,000 SF
• Client: Dantes Partners
• Photographer: Pavel Bendov