Municipal Arts Society selects Cook+Fox and Terrapin to develop green manual

The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS), in collaboration with the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), has chosen the architecture firm of Cook+Fox and the environmental consultants Terrapin Bright Green to develop a manual on how to make landmarked buildings more energy efficient. Greening New York City's Landmarks: A Guide for Property Owners will offer clear, cost-effective instructions on improving the energy performance of landmarked buildings without sacrificing preservation standards. The manual, expected to be completed next fall, will be available free of cost on the MAS and LPC websites. Funding is provided by The J.M. Kaplan Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The project, part of the MAS Preservation and Climate Change Campaign, complements PlaNYC 2030, mayor Bloomberg's sustainability plan for New York. Improving the performance of older buildings is a top priority of that initiative. With the building sector responsible for 75% of New York's greenhouse gas emissions, it is the city's largest consumer of energy by far. Terrapin's founders were instrumental creating the U.S. Green Building Council and its LEED rating system and both firms have extensive experience in greening historic buildings, including the White House. Other noteworthy projects include President Lincoln's summer cottage (the firms' first LEED-certified project and one on which they worked with the National Trust) and Historic Front Street at the South Street Seaport. Said Vin Cipolla, Municipal Art Society president: "Roughly 55 percent of New York's buildings are more than 70 years old. Any serious effort to make the city more sustainable must include solutions for making these structures more efficient. This isn't just good for the environment; it's good for the bottom line because it leads to savings in energy costs." Chris Garvin, a partner at Terrapin and a senior associate at Cook+Fox, said: "This project marries two guiding principles of our firms - environmental sustainability and cultural preservation. We are looking forward to working with the Municipal Art Society and the Landmarks Preservation Commission to create an insightful and useful guide for New York City." Greening New York City's Landmarks: A Guide for Property Owners will walk owners of small (under 50,000 sq. ft.) older buildings through the simple, often inexpensive steps needed to reduce their properties' energy consumption. Suggestions will cover everything from replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient ones to installing solar panels to adapting the low-tech yet energy-efficient features often found in older buildings - windows that open, awnings, cisterns for collecting rainwater - for current use. The manual will also be a one-stop-shop for information on city and state incentive programs and technical resources available to property owners. The Municipal Art Society's Preservation and Climate Change Campaign, of which the greening guide is part, works keep preservation on the city's sustainability agenda. As a result of MAS's advocacy, in 2011 preservation was incorporated into PlaNYC 2030, the Mayor's updated plan to make New York City more energy efficient. Other MAS activities addressing climate change include the energy retrofit of the Henry Street Settlement headquarters, begun last fall; the Conference on Preservation & Climate Change in New York City, held at Columbia University in 2010; and a series of expert roundtables started in 2009. ─── The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS), founded in 1893, is a non-profit membership organization committed to making New York a more livable city through education, dialogue and advocacy for intelligent urban planning, design and preservation. For more information visit MAS.org. Terrapin Bright Green is an environmental consulting and strategic planning firm committed to improving the human environment through green development, policy and related research. Working across the U.S. and internationally, we have been called on by private companies, public institutions and federal, state and local agencies, including the U.S. Department of Defense, the White House, the National Park Service, NYC's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability, and the New York City Transit Authority. Our founding partners were instrumental in the creation of the U.S. Green Building Council and its LEED rating system and are frequently asked to serve as board members, jurors and special advisors on green building. Cook+Fox Architects, the design firm of Terrapin partners Rick Cook and Bob Fox, is a studio dedicated to a vision of integrated, environmentally responsive design. Guided by the sister ethics of environmental stewardship and historic preservation, Cook+Fox seeks select projects that fundamentally re-think how buildings interact with people and the natural environment. Starting with intensive research, we seek to understand each project in its environmental, cultural and historic context so that our work may engage with layers of time and a strong sense of place. Inspired by concepts such as biophilia, we are pursuing architecture that goes beyond LEED to restore, regenerate, and contribute to the urban environment.