The mid-rise east facade features the main entrance with a drive-through portal for fire truck access to the enclosed courtyard. Cast-in-place concrete beams and bearing walls transfer the weight of six stories of heavy block and plank construction and roof landscaping above.
In 2007, the team of Grimshaw Architects, Dattner Architects, and the development firms of Jonathan Rose Companies and Phipps Houses Group won the New Housing New York design competition for an affordable and sustainable mixed-income housing development in the south Bronx.
Via Verde consists of three stepped structures spiraling around a central courtyard: an 18-story cast-in-place concrete tower, a mid-rise building that uses concrete masonry and precast concrete plank with a cast-in-place concrete base, and low-rise townhouses of concrete masonry and precast plank. The development has a total of 222 units.
By analyzing the block and plank structures, Silman utilized the exact grading changes, tree locations, and planter box locations to ensure maximum utility of low-cost structural materials. Lateral analysis and building drifts were carefully evaluated to locate building joints and to provide adequate stiffness at transfers.