NYC’s first prefab micro-unit apartment building starts to rise in Manhattan (PHOTOS)

It's been more than two years since <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/narchitects/">nARCHITECTS</a>' <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/bloomberg-announces-winners-of-the-adapt-nyc-competition-to-develop-micro-unit-dwellings/?preview=true&amp;preview_id=48402&amp;preview_nonce=bc0b3b0cef">My Micro NY</a> apartment design <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/bloomberg-announces-winners-of-the-adapt-nyc-competition-to-develop-micro-unit-dwellings/">won the adAPT NYC competition</a> and now the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/index.php?s=tiny+apartment">micro-dwellings</a> have begun to rise. The project, a collaboration between the DUMBO-based architecture firm and <a href="http://monadnockdevelopment.com/">Monadnock Development</a>, was selected as the winner of the 2013 call to develop innovative housing models for the city's growing population of smaller households, and consists of 65 <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/index.php?s=prefab">prefabricated</a> modules that have begun to be stacked at 335 East 27th Street in the Kips Bay section of Manhattan. Recently rebranded as "Carmel Place", the building will offer affordable housing for veterans with Section 8 vouchers and low- and middle-income New Yorkers, as well as market-rate units.

Located between 1st Avenue and Mt. Carmel Place adjacent to a small park, the 11-story building will be made up of 55 studio apartments when complete.

With apartment sizes ranging from just 260 to 360 square feet, <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/narchitects/">nARCHITECTS</a> focused on maximizing flexibility in the homes by centering them around a<a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/narchitects-adapt-nyc-micro-apartment-features-convertible-furniture-and-cool-multi-use-rooms/"> “toolbox” featuring a kitchen, bathroom and storage space </a>and a “canvas”, which will serve as the main living area.

Carmel Place's "Toolkit" and "Canvas".

The dwellings will also incorporate <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/10-transforming-furniture-designs-perfect-for-tiny-nyc-apartments/">transforming furniture</a> that will allow the canvas to double as a bedroom at night.

The apartments will also boast 9'-10' ceilings and Juliet balconies as well as amenities like a rooftop garden, communal loungers, an in-building laundry room, bike storage, a cafe and a gym. 

Carmel Place will be New York City's first building composed entirely of <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/index.php?s=prefab">prefabricated</a>, micro-apartments.

The modular units that make up the development were fabricated by Monadnock sister company <a href="http://www.capsyscorp.com/">Capsys</a> at the Brooklyn Navy Yard and will be transported to the construction site gradually over the next few weeks. The first modules are already in place.

Monadnock estimates that the decision to use prefab construction will cut the project's timeline by about half while also saving 5%-8% in construction costs.

Carmel Place is expected to be complete by the end of 2015.