New York developer/architect team wins green housing competition

Phipps-Rose-Dattner-Grimshaw (PRDG), a joint venture of developers the Phipps Houses and Jonathan Rose Companies, and architects Dattner Architects and Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners, all based in New York, are the winning architect-developer team members of New York City's first juried design competition for affordable and sustainable housing.

The PRDG team presented a proposal, referred to as “Green Way” or “Via Verde,” that will consist of 202 residential units, retail and community spaces, and parking. The proposed development incorporates a range of residential spaces, varying from apartments in a tower to duplexes in a mid-rise to townhouses. The development is planned around a central courtyard and spirals upward through a series of programmed, south-facing roof gardens that end in a sky terrace. Located in the South Bronx, the competition site was a 60,000 sf vacant lot that consists of city-owned property and a legally abandoned rail right-of-way.