You’re a well-respected physician in your adopted city, moving your practice downtown and wanting to make a special mark in your new neighborhood. How do you do something different and good for society, while also adding something aesthetically pleasing?
In the case of Paul Hriso, M.D. a general psychiatrist, you build an energy-efficient, artsy-looking building, which also adds to the attractiveness of the area.
Back in 2006, Hriso began his search for a new business home, and came up with a former gas station site, already cleaned up, on 15th Street and Avenue C, which seemed promising. After hiring Bayonne architect Stephen Kawalek, he was on his way.
“I just wanted to renovate the existing building, but [then Mayor Joseph] Doria said, ‘Why don’t you do something different?’”
Doing something different and environmentally sound is exactly what Hriso did.
He installed a geothermal heating and cooling system to the four-story, 12,000-square-foot building. Not only is it energy efficient, it also costs only 30 cents to the dollar compared to a conventional system.
“It’s very green. It’s non-polluting,” Hriso said. “The whole building is powered by geothermal energy. We’re the only one with it in Bayonne.”
Like it sounds, geothermal energy is pulled from the ground, where the temperature is always 55 degrees, according to Hriso. In order to harness this energy, eight wells were dug 600 to 800 feet below street level.
An initial investment is necessary, about 50 percent more in new construction costs than the price of a regular system, but there is much economic gain over the long term, according to Hriso. He said the figure for building his office with a geothermal energy system was an additional $120,000.
The geothermal system works with electricity in a closed loop to create the power, Hriso explained.
Hriso’s office was constructed with no government subsidies for the energy savings it realizes.
“I just looked it up and researched it online, and it made sense,” he said. “It’s incredibly efficient. You get a lot of heat and you get a lot of cold, for the air conditioning.”
Art and environmentalism
A man on a mission, Hriso did not stop there. He commissioned Omiros Hriso, his father and an abstract painter, to do 30 pieces of art for the building. His father’s imprint can be seen virtually everywhere throughout the complex. All the metalwork for the art pieces was done by Hriso himself, and some of them were done in tandem with the work of his father, who died in 2010.
The building was completed and opened in 2011, and it was immediately noticed not only in his local neighborhood, but by others from outside the city and state who come to see it.
“People come and take pictures on a regular basis; people are taking pictures all the time,” Hriso said.
One of the first things patients and visitors see upon entering the building is the 13- by 28-foot painting on a working door on their way to the elevator.
In the ballroom-height lobby are two artistic clocks. One consists of stained glass pieces inserted into metal casings. The other is a caliper-like creation, all metal with gears rising out of two tree-like branches.
“It sets a positive tone from the get go.” – Dr. Paul Hriso
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Hriso said that he believes the artwork, in tandem with the geothermal system, creates a great sense of beauty and purpose to the downtown neighborhood.
A passerby outside the building agreed, commenting that the attractiveness of the building’s front façade went well with the green initiative inside.
Hriso also believes that the building’s green and artistic components benefit his patients.
“It gives them a tremendous sense of trust and faith. They’re uplifted, they have a tremendous sense of hope,” he said. “It sets a positive tone from the get go,”
What’s next for the building?
Hriso said he is in negotiations with a movie company to film scenes in the building for an action feature, though he would not get more specific.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com.To comment on this story online visit www.hudsonreporter.com.