Solaire
Another site tour focused on building with the environment in mind awaits the group south of the High Line, near the World Trade Center and within Battery Park City.
The Solaire is the first LEED Certified Residential High-Rise.
“[I] was inspired by its design and apparent popularity,” says Danny Szydlowski. “It fits into my vision for a greener world, which is a vision that I, myself, would like to contribute to once I enter the professional world. It is important that we find ways to live in harmony both with one another and with the world around us, and The Solaire is a prime example of how that can be accomplished.”
“It fits into my vision for a greener world, which is a vision that I, myself, would like to contribute to once I enter the professional world...”
According to the Battery Park City Authority:
- The materials used in building The Solaire were acquired within a 500-mile radius to cut down on transportation waste.
- The building reuses and recycles wastewater. Wastewater from bathrooms and kitchens runs through a filtration process and cycles back into use — to flush toilets and aid cooling towers.
- The building recycled 85 percent of construction waste and, thanks to its wastewater recycling system, The Solaire saves and reuses an estimated 50 percent of its total water usage.
- Solar panels produce 5 percent of the energy used throughout the building and “Low-E glass” reflects, rather than absorb sunlight, which helps lower heating and cooling costs.
“The environmental aspects seemed to fit seamlessly into the building,” Brianna Zawacki says after the tour. “It makes me want to be more aware of environmental aspects in the designs I make, if I am ever so fortunate as to design something.”
The Solaire walk-through is one of two tours scheduled for Saturday afternoon, the last official site tours of the trip. The second is the World Trade Center Memorial Site.
A bus will take everyone back to Midtown for dinner and in the morning; students will celebrate Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and then head home. It’s a fitting end.
When the World Trade Center’s north and south towers collapsed, nearby streets were flooded with ash and debris. The combination of structural material and airplane fuel, among other chemicals, created a consciousness for the materials used in building new structures that will line the sky.
Here especially, the city emits a sense of purpose.
To build. To rebuild.
To be a part of something bigger.