Affordable housing development could be US’s first triple-net-zero building

Renewable energy, water-reuse, plus on-site agriculture will integrate sustainability with everyday living

Spotted: Designed by Garrison Architects, this mixed-use development is set to transform a neighbourhood in Albany, New York. The firm is an expert in modularity and sustainability, and The Seventy Six complex brings multi-family, flexible apartment designs together with commercial spaces, renewable energy generation and storage, on-site water treatment and a variety of elements of urban agriculture.

Producing zero-waste, requiring no energy other than what is generated locally, and wasting no water means the entire development has the potential to be the first triple net-zero development in the United States. Wellbeing through regular contact with nature is also an integrated design element. Each apartment, whether micro or two-bedroom, includes irrigated balcony planters, and all residents have access to a greenhouse, wetlands and a mix of private and public outdoor parks and play areas.

Rooftop solar arrays perform an additional function as shades for the sides of the buildings, and the infrastructure for energy and water is distributed throughout the complex in order to increase the overall resilience of the systems. Aquaponic growing spaces perform a double duty of contributing to the water filtration system, alongside food production.

Ambitious architecture is expanding the public’s perception of what is a good design by including individual, communal and even regional wellbeing into new developments. Springwise has recently spotted a sub-surface real estate project that will be built underneath the contaminated ground, and a new maritime museum housed in glass icebergs.

Explore more: Architecture & Design Innovations |Sustainability Innovations