This 21-story, 100,000-sq-ft building is the tallest modular hotel in the U.S. It has 300 hotel rooms on 15 floors. Located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the citizenM New York Bowery Hotel pivoted heavily from its original cast-in-place concrete design when it switched to a module system. The change, which followed a value analysis of construction drawings, required the design team to collaborate closely with a modular system manufacturer to ensure the new structural plan fit into the original building envelope. Excavation had already begun when the team chose the modular option.

The building’s first three floors were built using conventional concrete construction. The team then assembled 15 modules per floor around a concrete core with elevator shafts and stairs, stacking them on the conventional foundation and base. The fourth floor’s 36-in.-thick concrete slab supports the modular loads above it, while the top floors use a structural steel frame.

Two design teams worked on the project: one in the U.S. and one in Poland. Although it was a global team, members worked together to ensure all New York City building codes were met, according to the project submission.

Each modular component was made in Poland, then transported to Manhattan. The modular units arrived virtually complete with the facade attached, and most interior rooms came with all mechanical and electrical features, a California king bed, a full bathroom, large windows, doors, a mounted HDTV and wood laminate flooring. There also is a rooftop bar, a combined co-working space and bistro on the ground level and a 4,000-sq-ft plaza with double-floor height ceilings.

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