Description
In collaboration with Selfhelp Community Services, Inc. and Selfhelp Realty Group, Inc., Studio Libeskind has designed the 41,833 square-foot, Alan and Geraldine Rosenberg Residence for seniors on Long Island. Selfhelp and Studio Libeskind are also currently collaborating on senior housing at the Sumner Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
Located in the Village of Freeport, the project is planned as a 45-unit housing community serving the area’s low-income senior population. In addition to the building’s one-bedroom apartments, the design includes community space, a recreational rooftop terrace, and a walking track, as well as many green and energy-efficient features.
The design features a minimal white exterior with geometric facets that run vertically across the façade, and a sloping standing seam metal roof, punctuated with dormer windows on the upper floors. The building has a central open space designed as a landscaped courtyard for residents. Glazed walls and multiple landscaped outdoor spaces create an open dialogue between inside and out, imbuing the interiors with natural light. The units are organized around a common corridor that looks out onto the central courtyard space, encouraging activity and communication. On-site supportive services will be available for residents to benefit from, as needed and on request, as well as recreational, educational, and health and wellness programming.
The highly sustainable design features energy-efficient materials and systems throughout, as well as rain and stormwater storage systems. Active design elements, such as stairwell windows and hallway organization, are used to encourage residents to use stairs rather than elevators, and ample outdoor recreational facilities such as the walking track and central courtyard are also provided.