Charlotte of the Upper West Side | 470 Columbus

Charlotte of the Upper West Side is a new 9-story multi-family residential building at 470 Columbus Avenue, in the Upper West Side / Central Park West Historic District of Manhattan, NYC. The building is Manhattan’s first residential condominium to be certified by Passive House International as a Low Energy Building in a landmark district.

The façade is a modern interpretation of historic fenestration patterns and traditional district materials. Intended to dialogue directly with its immediate context, the façade draws inspiration from district traditions of sculptural brick, deeply raked terra cotta, planes of masonry, and robust cornices. Brick piers are interwoven with horizontal terra cotta units which align with adjacent terra cotta baguettes integrated into a suspended sunshade screen. The terra cotta and aluminum screen disguises heroically scaled street facing windows, framing legible openings that mirror the punched windows of adjacent tenement buildings. The distinctive screen provides privacy and shading, significantly cutting thermal gain.

The project sets new standards for energy performance, occupant comfort, and indoor air quality for residential buildings in NYC. To achieve Passive House goals, the design incorporates a nearly airtight building envelope, robust insulation, and triple-glazed windows with four layers of glass. The four layers of glass cut solar heat gain far below what is allowed by code and substantially improves acoustic attenuation of street noise.

HEPA-14 filtered fresh outdoor air tempered by recovered heat or cooling energy depending on season is supplied to every habitable room by a ventilation system, distinct from the heating and air conditioning system. The ventilation facilitates a fresh air exchange rate far above NYC code requirements. In addition, Charlotte of the Upper West Side is one of the first residential buildings in New York City to introduce Ultraviolet C energy throughout its air supply system to irradiate germs and viruses.

Alyssa Kapito Interiors & BKSK Architects collaborated on the Interior Design.