It's no secret that building "green" has become one of the hottest trends in real estate development, but will it be a passing one? Last summer, a new 8-story building on West 116th Street in Harlem made a lot of noise because of its self-cleaning concrete. Self-cleaning hoozawhutnow? If you don't recall, let us refresh your memory:
The building was designed by Grzywinski Pons Architects (which also did the Hotel on Rivington). We didn't pay as much attention in chemistry as we should have, but the concrete contains titanium dioxide and, according to the Post, "cleans itself and the air around it" when UV rays hit the building.Yes, we just excerpted ourselves. Anyway, does this sort of stuff not fly above 96th Street? The fantasy of an environmentally-friendly city took a hit on May 3rd, when this bankrupt development project got auctioned off in Red Hook. Much like that classic commercial with the Native American and the wreckless litterers, we shed a tear for Mother Earth.
· Auction Sale [gemassociates.com]
· Behold the Self-Cleaning Harlem Building [Curbed]