
The 10-story Creston Avenue Residence reinterprets the typical Bronx, N.Y., apartment building to provide 66 studio, one- and two-bedroom affordable and supportive living units. Nearly twice as tall as its decades-older neighbors, the architects at New York–based Magnusson Architecture and Planning mitigated the building's mass with façade setbacks and a combination of gray masonry and metal panels in lieu of traditional brick, but the building still sits comfortably within its well-established context.
On the west-facing front façade, metal sunscreens with horizontal slots form shadows that mimic the varied patterns of fire escapes on older buildings throughout the neighborhood. A change in elevation on the site allows basement amenities, including laundry and community rooms, to face a landscaped rear yard that features a children's play space and vegetable garden.
The structure was designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification, and residents can monitor the energy production from the rooftop photovoltaic system. The building is the first to be funded by the New York State Medicaid Redesign Team Housing Capital Program, an initiative that sees housing as an essential element of health care.