DATEJan 1, 2018
STATUSUnder construction
CLIENT
Selfhelp Community ServicesRiseBoro Community PartnershipUrban Builders Collaborative/Lettire.
BUILDING SIZE138, 418 sq. ft. housing7,500 sq. ft. community facility
DESCRIPTION
Studio Libeskind is leading the design team creating an affordable housing and community center building in the Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bed-Stuy) neighborhood of Brooklyn. The team includes Selfhelp Community Services, RiseBoro Community Partnership and Urban Builders Collaborative/Lettire.
The project is part of the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) “Seniors First” program, part of the Housing New York 2.0 plan, a commitment to build senior housing on NYCHA-owned land. For the duration of the 99-year ground lease, the apartments at Sumner Houses will be affordable to extremely low, very low, and low-income individuals. Located in the park-like setting of the existing Sumner Houses campus, the building will feature 138,418 square feet of affordable senior housing within 10 stories, coupled with a ground-level community facility of 7,500 square feet along Marcus Garvey Boulevard.
“The Atrium at Sumner,” will include 190 affordable housing units and provide 7500 square feet of community space for residents of the Sumner Houses. The design features a crisp white façade that is interrupted with a pattern of open and solid elements. The design team’s goal was to create a dynamic interaction with the street and surrounding context. Bold diagonal lines wrap the building at angles that rise from the ground as colonnades, creating a folding form that breaks down the massing at street-level. A double-height glazed entrance lobby creates a transparent and open connection to the street. The residential facility is organized as a courtyard building, with corridors looking inward toward a central green public space.
The community spaces include classrooms, conference rooms, and a large multipurpose room. Residents are afforded exclusive access to additional spaces, including meeting rooms, an exercise room, a winter garden, and a social services suite.
Construction is slated to be completed by 2023.