Carmel Place was built in response to the current housing crisis facing New York. Part of the city’s New Housing Marketplace Plan, it was selected for construction through the adAPT NYC competition to address changing demographics, especially the trend towards small households.

The project tests the viability of reducing the minimum size of apartments while balancing the need for greater social space. Fifty-five rental apartments, ranging in area from 260 to 360 square foot net, are complemented by generous shared amenities dispersed throughout the building, encouraging social interaction between neighbors. The apartment interiors offer abundant light, fresh air, high ceilings, and significant storage space, demonstrating new possibilities for micro-living that, through thoughtful design, does not sacrifice quality of life.

Carmel Place has been internationally celebrated as a new housing prototype, and for its groundbreaking use of modular construction, which reduced construction time and noise and enabled a ⅛-inch construction tolerance. On the heels of Carmel Place, the city revised the zoning code to encourage modular construction and a diversity of housing options including micro-units.

Client: Monadnock Development / NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development
Location:  335 E 27th Street, Kips Bay, Manhattan, NY
Status: Completed
Dates: 2013 – 2016
Sq Footage: 35,000sf
Program: Manhattan’s first micro unit apartment building, with 55 micro-unit apartments, shared amenities, and retail
Environmental: LEED Silver target

Design Team: Eric Bunge, Mimi Hoang | Ammr Vandal | Tony-Saba Shiber, Daniel-Katebini Stengel, Albert Figueras, Zach Cohen, Amanda Morgan, Cheryl Baxter, Gabrielle Marcoux

Collaborators: Structural Engineer: Denardis Engineers | MEP Engineer: Abraham Joselow | Sustainability: Liro Engineers, Philip Habib & Associates | Developer and General Contractor: Monadnock | Modular Fabrication: Capsys

Photography: Iwan Baan, Pablo Enriquez, Field Condition