(DNAINFO) Amy Zimmer | December 22, 2015 — An East Village-based architect responsible for designing the city’s first new affordable buildings that met strict energy efficiency standards has been tapped for an even more challenging task — retrofitting a collection of existing affordable housing buildings.
Chris Benedict is working with The Ridgewood Bushwick Senior Citizens Council — which runs complexes that are 100 percent affordable — to upgrade at least nine of its buildings in Bushwick to meet “passive house” standards. That means they would be essentially airtight, keeping hot air in during the winter and cool air in during summer with a filtration system circulating clean air inside.