The CitizenM Bowery, a 21-story, 100,000 sf hotel, is the tallest modular hotel in the United States. The DeSimone Consulting Engineers-designed building comprises 300 modular guestrooms, a rooftop bar and lounge, a bistro-style restaurant, coworking space on the ground level, and a 4,000 sf plaza.
The project was not supposed to be modular; it was originally designed to be entirely cast-in-place concrete. After the build team decided to switch to a modular system, the hotel was sectioned into three main structural areas.
Courtesy CitizenM.
See Also: Modular construction may be key to relieving housing crunch
The lowest section rises up to the fourth floor and is cast-in-place concrete to maintain previously designed amenity spaces in the lower levels. The fourth-floor concrete slab is 36-inches thick with spans measuring up to 38 feet. This slab functions as a transfer slab to support the modular levels. These modular levels begin on the fourth floor and end at the 19th, and contain the 300 modular guestrooms. The nineteenth floor up to the roof makes up the third structural area and is framed with structural steel to provide open spaces at the upper amenity levels. The building’s lateral system includes a standalone concrete core throughout the building and a blade shear wall between the two northern modules.
Courtesy CitizenM.
The interior spaces were designed with a contemporary aesthetic. Amenity spaces such as the bar and lounge area include built in shelves that cover the walls and contain more colorful knick knacks than a Florida grandmother’s condo unit. The modular guest rooms feature sleek, clean lines and are primarily white with a few pops of color to carry the hotel’s contemporary feel throughout.
The buildings windows are currently adorned with a temporary “Citizens of the Bowery” exhibition. Photographer Christelle de Castro inserted back-lit portraits of members of the surrounding Bowery community into 62 of the hotel’s windows.
Photo: Chris Cooper.
The hotel was designed and built in collaboration with Concrete Architectural Associates and Stephen B. Jacobs Group.
Courtesy CitizenM.
Courtesy CitizenM.
Courtesy CitizenM.
Photo: Chris Cooper.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Modest recession for education construction
Construction spending for education expanded modestly but steadily through March, while at the same time growth for other institutional construction had stalled earlier in 2009. Education spending is now at or near the peak for this building cycle. The value of education starts is off 9% year-to-date compared to 2008.
| Aug 11, 2010
'Feebate' program to reward green buildings in Portland, Ore.
Officials in Portland, Ore., have proposed a green building incentive program that would be the first of its kind in the U.S. Under the program, new commercial buildings, 20,000 sf or larger, that meet Oregon's state building code would be assessed a fee by the city of up to $3.46/sf. The fee would be waived for buildings that achieve LEED Silver certification from the U.
| Aug 11, 2010
Decline expected as healthcare slows, but hospital work will remain steady
The once steady 10% growth rate in healthcare construction spending has slowed, but hasn't entirely stopped. Spending is currently 1.7% higher than the same time last year when construction materials costs were 8% higher. The 2.5% monthly jobsite spending decline since last fall is consistent with the decline in materials costs.
| Aug 11, 2010
Luxury Hotel required faceted design
Goettsch Partners, Chicago, designed a new five-star, 214-room hotel for the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The design-build project, with Saudi Oger Ltd. as contractor and Rayadah Investment Co. as developer, has a three-story podium supporting a 17-story glass tower with a nine-story opening that allows light to penetrate the mass of the building.
| Aug 11, 2010
U.S. firm designing massive Taiwan project
MulvannyG2 Architecture is designing one of Taipei, Taiwan's largest urban redevelopment projects. The Bellevue, Wash., firm is working with developer The Global Team Group to create Aquapearl, a mixed-use complex that's part of the Taipei government's "Good Looking Taipei 2010" initiative to spur redevelopment of the city's Songjian District.
| Aug 11, 2010
7 Keys to Unlocking Energy Efficiency in Schools
Today’s best K-12 schools are embracing the sustainability ethos in their design and construction, and that can mean a healthier, more comfortable indoor environment and improved learning. Some studies contend that ample amounts of daylighting, for example, lead to higher test scores. High-performance HVAC systems that constantly draw fresh air into a classroom seem to help both teachers ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Great Solutions: Green Building
27. Next-Generation Green Roofs Sprout up in New York New York is not particularly known for its green roofs, but two recent projects may put the Big Apple on the map. In spring 2010, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts will debut one of the nation's first fully walkable green roofs. Located across from the Juilliard School in Lincoln Center's North Plaza, Illumination Lawn will consist ...
| Aug 11, 2010
Giants 300 University Report
University construction spending is 13% higher than a year ago—mostly for residence halls and infrastructure on public campuses—and is expected to slip less than 5% over the next two years. However, the value of starts dropped about 10% in recent months and will not return to the 2007–08 peak for about two years.
| Aug 11, 2010
World's tallest all-wood residential structure opens in London
At nine stories, the Stadthaus apartment complex in East London is the world’s tallest residential structure constructed entirely in timber and one of the tallest all-wood buildings on the planet. The tower’s structural system consists of cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels pieced together to form load-bearing walls and floors. Even the elevator and stair shafts are constructed of prefabricated CLT.
