(Green) thumbs-up for design

The Bloomberg administration is giving a 60,000-square-foot lot in the South Bronx to a team of architects and developers who will construct a low- and moderate-income housing complex called Via Verde. The 202-apartment complex, made up of a tower, a mid-rise building and townhouses, will be joined together by courtyards and roof gardens where residents can garden and socialize. The project is the result of a design competition sponsored by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and the New York chapter of the American Institute for Architects. The winning team is made up of Grimshaw Architects, Dattner Architects, and developers the Jonathan Rose Companies and the Phipps Houses Group. more [NYT]