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Green Residential Project: Riverhouse

Riverhouse, One Rockefeller Park, sets out to be one of the greenest and polished residential buildings on the East Coast.

Sheila Kim-Jamet -- Interior Design, 2/23/2007 12:00:00 AM

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Real-estate developer The Sheldrake Organization is hoping to achieve a LEED Gold rating with the completion of its New York residential complex Riverhouse, One Rockefeller Park. Slated to open in late 2007 in downtown Manhattan, the building might very well become one of the greenest residential developments on the East Coast—and a posh one at that.

The exterior architect is the internationally-acclaimed Polshek Partnership Architects, the firm behind such notable projects as the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the Rose Center for Earth and Space at New York’s American Museum of Natural History. For this project, the firm designed a U-shaped, brick-clad structure that is generously punched with windows to afford a bulk of the interior spaces views of the river and city. With space planning and layouts by Ismael Leyva Architects, the one-, two-, and three-bedroom residences will all receive the finest touches by award-winning firm Rockwell Group, whose high-profile projects include New York’s Nobu restaurants and the Broadway set design for Hairspray. The firm’s principal, Interior Design Hall of Famer David Rockwell, has custom-designed the kitchens’ teak-faced cabinetry and sleek Corian countertops, as well as the bathrooms’ teak vanities with lava stone tops. Other residence features include Miele, Bosch, Sub-Zero, and Thermador brand appliances; travertine marble floors and Jerusalem stone mosaics on walls in the bathrooms; and Toto and Neptune bath fixtures. The luxurious touches don’t end in the residences, though. Several common areas in the tower are also tastefully designed by Rockwell, including the lobby, which will feature salt-water aquariums, a fitness center with yoga studio, a 50-foot-long lap pool, a billiard room that appears to “float” on a glass bridge, lounges, and an indoor children’s playground. So can something so stylish be eco-friendly at the same time? Take a look at some of the green aspects of the development: recycling wastewater for cooling the tower and irrigation of the green roof spaces; photovoltaic cells mounted on the roof to produce solar energy that will be used toward public utilities; and double-pane glass windows with low-emission coating to help prevent heat gain or loss in the winter and summer seasons, among others. Energy Star appliances and Toto dual-flush toilets will also contribute to the environmental factor. Construction of the building is said to be eco-friendly as well: Some 20 percent of the building is to be constructed from recycled materials, and over 80 percent of construction waste will be recyclable. Not to mention, over 40 percent of the building materials will be acquired locally to reduce fuel consumption during shipping. With all these and more, One Rockefeller Park’s tagline should read “Welcome to the new face of green.”