Resilience Squared: Modular Affordable Passive House Tour

In Autumn 2023, PCA's commitment to addressing NYC's urgent affordable senior housing needs led to an exhilarating project: Bethany Terraces. In just two weeks, they shipped and erected 47 modular units from Leola, PA, creating a four-story residential complex that redefines senior living with affordable, Passive House design.

Bethany Terraces, developed in collaboration with RiseBoro Community Partnership and supported by NYSERDA, offers 58 studios and one one-bedroom apartment filled with natural light and powered by solar arrays. This innovative project focuses on reducing operational energy use and embodied carbon, while exploring circular building design.

The southern terraces cascade into a communal garden, fostering connection, activity, and well-being among residents. The design emphasizes wayfinding and dignified aging, creating spaces that encourage spontaneous interactions and a strong sense of community. Modular construction holds immense promise, and PCA is committed to refining this innovative methodology to build thriving, resilient communities across NYC.

If you're passionate about environmental impact and affordable housing, and curious about the technology behind self-sustaining buildings, join PCA and Murray Engineering September 26th, 2024 in Brooklyn’s East Flatbush neighborhood. Experience firsthand how Bethany Terraces challenges convention and proves that cost-effective, resilient, low-carbon, and healthy buildings can be NYC’s new standard.

Learning Objectives

1. Understand the Efficiency of Modular Construction for Affordable Housing
Learn how modular construction techniques—building pre-fabricated units off-site and assembling them on-site—can reduce build times and costs, making this design and construction method an ideal solution to address the urgent need for affordable housing in NYC.

2. Explore the Integration of Passive House and Modular Construction
Discover how combining Passive House design with modular construction delivers energy-efficient, cost-effective solutions that meet the demands of NYC’s housing crisis while ensuring long-term sustainability and comfort.

3. Analyze Innovations in Resilient, Cost-Effective Building
See how modular construction overcomes common challenges in the housing market, using off-site manufacturing to maximize efficiency, reduce construction timelines, and provide affordable, high-performance housing options.

4. Investigate Circular Design and Embodied Carbon Reduction
Explore how Bethany Terraces employs circular building practices to minimize embodied carbon, using sustainable materials and innovative design solutions that respond to NYC’s need for resilient, affordable housing.

Host or Publisher Paul A. Castrucci Architects