NEW YORK — The Twin Parks housing development was conceived by the New York State Urban Development Corporation in the late 1960s as a new kind of housing development that emphasized a connection to existing neighborhood public spaces.
When work was completed in the central Bronx in the early 1970s it was hailed internationally for its architectural innovation and promise of urban renewal.
The project was designed by six different architects on 12 distinct sites and created more than 2,000 apartments. The development received coverage in housing textbooks, environmental psychology studies, and architectural theory journals. It marked a shift away from the modern “tower-in-the-park” planning to the “scattered-site” approach.
At precisely the moment Twin Parks welcomed its first residents, political support for large-scale housing production ended. Now, 40 years later, as buildings in the complex are being updated one by one, Twin Parks is again being recognized at the highest levels for innovation, this time for its focus on energy-efficiency.
Platinum Energy Group was brought in to perform the renovations. Platinum Energy is actually a family of organizations serving the commercial, industrial and multi-family sector since 1968 with a special focus on energy conservation. Through the years the group has acquired multiple specialty trades and is now able to offer its clients a full spectrum of turnkey contracting and consulting services.
The first phase of the multi-phase project included the heating systems (as well as façade, roof and window replacement, new bathrooms and kitchens, security cameras, painting and more). The decision was made to shift from an electric heating system to a high-efficiency hydronic system.
Series 80 ITSC vertical inline pumps from Bell & Gossett pumps were integral to the inside-out retrofit of the first of the buildings.
“We chose the Series 80 because its custom configuration options enabled us to use it in boiler rooms that were very tight on space, as well as in a larger boiler room the size of a dance floor,” said Bob Demarco, vice president of operations at Platinum Energy Group. “We laid out the whole job with ITSC prepackaged products, which resulted in faster, easier installation than using separate controls.”
ITSC stands for Integrated Technologic with Sensorless Control, a feature that combines sensorless technology with the energy savings of variable flow.
B&G representative, Wallace Eannace Associates Inc., in Plainview, New York, worked with contractor Platinum Energy Group on large system upgrades to seven Twin Parks’ apartment buildings, retrofitting boiler rooms with new equipment.
Another ease-of-installation feature is the Series 80’s proprietary mounting flange. Pump installers do not need to use an additional fabricated steel base, saving time and money onsite. Matt Spink, national service manager for PEG, was impressed by this labor-saving design feature, as well as the simple startup due to the preprogrammed system parameters built into the drive.
“The ITSC is mounted and configured in our factory by trained technicians,” said Joshua Allen, Americas product manager, Drives and Controls, Xylem – the parent company of the Bell & Gossett brand. “It is fully tested and optimized under load in our advanced pump testing facility.”
The sensorless technology of the Series 80 incorporates a variable speed drive (VSD) without the need for a wired transducer. The VSDs will come into play in Phase II of the project, as the systems were initially set up without any control valves.
“We were able to use a modified curve with the ITSC to fine tune the systems for lower horsepower use until control valves are installed,” Allen said. “Controllers will react to the system demands by varying speed, significantly reducing electrical costs compared to a full-speed operation and be in full compliance with ASHRAE 90.1.”
One of the buildings that received systems and aesthetic upgrades was selected as a 2014 EBie Award finalist by the Urban Green Council, which recognizes improved environmental performance in existing buildings.
The buildings exist today as privately owned, income-restricted and moderate-income rental housing. With the success of the first round of renovations, more projects are in the pipeline at Twin Parks. “They want to replicate exactly what they did in Phase I for all of the remaining buildings,” Allen said.