A collaboration between the Urban Design Forum and Van Alen Institute, Neighborhoods Now connects leading design firms with neighborhoods hard-hit by COVID-19 – working together to develop safe and effective reopening strategies. Dattner Architects partnered with MBB and community partner, University Neighborhood Housing Program (UNHP), a non-profit organization working to create, preserve, and finance affordable housing in the Northwest Bronx.
Two priorities for UNHP included:
- Updating UNHP’s main office located at 2751 Grand Concourse for core employees to safely return to work
- Update community rooms at UNHP’s senior housing facilities for safe social gathering
Utilizing a phased approach and a menu of implementation strategies, the Dattner/MBB/UNHP team reconfigured UNHP’s main office to accommodate for social distancing. Programming elements include reducing the number of workstations in each room, implementing a COVID-19 check-in station, and installing plexiglass partitions and air purifiers. The team will also provide the Rose Hill Community Center with a cost-friendly outdoor module planter system to encourage tenants to gather safely outside their apartments.
To learn more, please join us on October 7 as we take part in a virtual public forum to discuss our work with the Neighborhoods Now initiative and reflect on how collaborative design can inform neighborhood recovery strategies.
