Future Forward

The impact of architecture on the environment is long lasting. The future therefore starts with the plans we make today. We think ahead to a world where the next generation will benefit from healthy environments, ecologically sustainable buildings and communities, and conservation of precious natural resources.

The Stanley Manne Research Institute at The Bronx High School of Science

We are dedicated to achieving high levels of urban sustainability and density – pioneering green civic and residential design and helping communities affected by climate change. The Bronx Library Center led the trend to make public Buildings in New York City LEED certified; Chestnut Commons pioneered the application of Passive House standards to high rise construction; each of the city’s new public school building follow the principles of the Green School’s Guide which our firm was commissioned to produce.

Our Sustainable Practice Group (SPG) facilitates a positive environmental impact and improves occupant health, equity, and the resilience of Dattner projects through research on energy use, renewable energy, indoor environment and human health, sustainable materials, site ecology, and urban infrastructure.

Environmental Design & Health

Environmental health and personal health are intimately related. While the 19^th century conquered infectious disease through better infrastructure, sanitation and housing standards, we are currently faced with the challenge of non-communicable or chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes and other ailments that are in part related to the built environment, from living conditions, sedentary lifestyles, food deserts and reliance on the automobile. The recent Covid pandemic also brings contagion in new forms. As designers, we have a role to play, in partnership with other to find solutions to these problems.

Our approach is to be ambitious in our goals, but strategic in our methods. To be effective, sustainability does not have to rely on expensive and difficult technologies, or superlative performance, but often on encouraging the widespread implementation of readily available ideas, practices and technologies that will have broad, systemic impact on our shared environment.

Environmental Design & Affordability

What good is environmental design if its benefits are not widely shared? At its most basic, the measure of environmental progress is based on how it fits into the greater environmental context, how well cities, states and countries are performing collectively. For that reason our big, grey cities are in fact the greenest of environments: efficiently using space through density and minimizing our carbon footprint through mass transportation. Our urbanistic fascination is inevitably tied to sustainability and convinces us that environmental design must serve the greatest number. While it is not cost free, it must be affordable, accessible and the benefits must be widely distributed. Design that focuses on these essentials is vital to our society as a whole, to those areas and communities that are most directly affected, and to foster participation and support at the neighborhood and individual level.

Pioneering Green Building in the Public Realm

Completed in 2001, the ACS Children’s Center was the first major “green” demonstration project for the New York City Department of Design and Construction and was profiled by New York Energy Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) as an energy efficient building. Completed in 2005, the Bronx Library Center was the first public building in NYC to achieve LEED Silver Certification.

Sustainable Practices Group: Mass Timber White Paper

Dattner Architect’s Sustainable Practice Group (SPG) recently published their first white paper focused on Mass Timber as a part of their inaugural Sustainable Practices Series.

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In this white paper, SPG’s Materials sub-committee shares their findings of in-depth exploration of Mass Timber, examining key aspects such as harvesting, processing, manufacturing, and life cycle analysis.

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Through this collective exploration, we have deepened our understanding of both the intrinsic qualities of the material and the myriad possibilities it presents for practical application.

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Trees capture CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis during their growth period, a process commonly referred to as sequestration. Studies have demonstrated that timber products have a longer rotation period due to slow forest growth periods, so they cannot be simply stated as carbon negative or carbon neutral without understanding the timeframe. Conversely, fast-growing bio-based materials, such as straw and hemp, have a short rotation period and can provide an effective mitigation effect on GHG emissions by rapidly removing carbon from the atmosphere.

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The 2022 NYCBC allows combustible construction (including Type IV construction) for R-2 and B occupancies up to 7 stories or 85 feet above grade, provided the exterior walls are noncombustible and the building is fully sprinklered.

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Fire Protection & Life Safety is of paramount importance. There are no specific provisions in 2022 NYCBC that address concealed spaces in Mass Timber construction. Illustrated above are three options based on what is currently approved by IBC. Until this portion of the NYCBC code is clarified, these will need to be individually approved for each building.

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