Main Architecture and Design Carmel Place: Model of Micro Living Units

Carmel Place (formerly known as MY MICRO NY), winner of the adAPT NYC competition, optimizes modular construction to provide the city with housing solutions for the expanding small household population. Exterior and interior spaces were designed with the goal of creating a systemic new paradigm for housing in NYC and other cities with similar demographic and affordability challenges. The implementation of the project in real-residential building occurred in late 2015.

Carmel Place is the winning proposal in the adAPT NYC competition sponsored by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD). Former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and HPD Commissioner Mathew M. Wambua announced on January 22nd, 2013, that the Carmel Place development team has been chosen through a competitive Request for Proposals, which received the largest response to date for an HPD housing project. HPD has received 33 proposals, including submissions that suggest the use of modular design and some that include sustainable design features such as solar panels.

The adAPT NYC competition was created as part of the administration’s New Housing Marketplace Plan to introduce additional choices within NYC’s housing market and accommodate the city’s growing small household population. With 1.8 million small households (more than 60 percent of New York City households) and only 1 million suitable apartments, many New Yorkers are left without proper housing options. According to the 2010 Census, the growth rates of the one- and two-person household populations exceed the growth rate of households with three or more people. 

The City’s housing codes have not kept up with its changing population, and currently do not allow apartments smaller than 400sf nor an entire building of micro-units. The Mayor’s office waived certain zoning regulations at the Kips Bay site to allow the Carmel Place/My Micro NY pilot project to be developed. Carmel Place proposes micro-unit living units, that are smaller than the currently allowed 400sf for new construction, albeit with increased and more integrated strategies for shared amenities. Living by yourself does not mean living alone.

 

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