| Floor plans / Drawings |
| Construction Process |
| Location and contact info |
| About GLUCK+ |
| Project | The Stack Modular Housing |
| Architects | GLUCK+ |
| Design Team | Shannon Bambenek, Jacob Chartoff, Marc Gee, Peter L. Gluck, Thomas Gluck, Charlie Kaplan, James Macgillivray, Brian Novello, Silan Yip |
| Area | 37,710 square feet |
| Structural Engineers | Silman (Foundations), The Harman Group (Modular) |
| Geotechnical Engineers | Pillori Associates |
| Mechanical Engineer | Rodkin Cardinale Consulting Engineers |
| Prefabrication Consultant | Deluxe Building Systems Inc. |
| Location | Manhattan, New York, USA |
| Photography | Amy Barkow |
| Year | 2014 |
Utilizing an off-site construction method and an innovative design strategy, The Stack modular housing has managed to streamline the entire development process and create a high-quality product with a small carbon footprint, pioneering the future of construction in New York City.
Individual modules are constructed and fully finished in a factory setting, while the eventual building site is simultaneously prepped for their arrival. Expending far fewer raw materials than traditional construction methods, the modules are fabricated in a highly controlled environment, allowing for quality assurance and precise engineering.
Once transported and on-site, the modules are literally stacked—the inspiration behind the building's name—and seamlessly integrated into a singular structure, an aesthetically pleasing building that enhances both the streetscape and the pedestrian experience. In the final stage, an expressive façade is fixed to the modular framework, making a strong visual statement to passersby that reflects the building's unique means to existence.
The modular construction method rapidly accelerates the production schedule, completing buildings in virtually half the time of the traditional on-site process, while also opening a new realm of opportunity for urban development. With its distinctive architecture and luxurious yet accessible lifestyle offering, The Stack modular housing serves as a proud example of the possibilities enabled by modular construction, and is a welcome addition to the Inwood community.
Description by architects
The Stack addresses the need for moderate-income and affordable housing in Manhattan, New York.
It finds opportunity on a small, difficult urban site by taking advantage of offsite construction methods. Offsite construction offers an accelerated schedule and shorter financing period, turning sites that might otherwise be considered risky and turning them into opportunities.
It is a pilot project for developing a quality and economically viable housing solution to strategically rebuilding and filling gaps in outmoded housing infrastructure in the New York city.
Although not necessary to this construction methodology, the design of this 7-storey residential building expresses its modular construction. Each individual unit is legible but also reads as part of a knit-together whole. A common misconception of “modular” construction is that the units are products; each one containing a complete apartment of a specific design. In fact “offsite” construction is simply an alternate construction method. The building is designed according to its needs and then “cut” into pieces that can be completely fabricated in the factory and then transported and erected in its intended location.
This is the first prefabricated steel and concrete multi-unit residential building for prefab affordable housing to be erected in New York City. Twenty-eight residential units (6 studios, 6 one-bedrooms, 14 two-bedrooms, 2 three-bedrooms) were built with fifty-six complete factory-finished modules prefabricated offsite. 5000 SF of infrastructure and foundations were built on site, in the same first three months that 28,000 SF, 6 stories of building, were simultaneously completed in the factory. A steel column grid structure was built on top of a poured-in-place concrete foundation to receive the stacked modules, and is designed to allow for wider clear spans for commercial leasing on the first floor. The two came together in a four week period of installation of this prefab affordable housing. It will have taken approximately 10 months for construction—6 months less than if built with traditional construction methods.
GLUCK+ is the architect, and construction manager, alongside Jeffrey Brown and Kim Frank, developer and builder of THE STACK.
The Stack’s interiors exude a sense of modern luxury. Residences feature colored concrete floors for a raw aesthetic, offset by a luxe palette of high-end contemporary finishes. Generously proportioned rooms include highly stylized kitchens appointed with maple cabinetry and stainless steel appliances, as well as mosaic-tiled bathrooms that feature built-in vanities with integrated storage and Water Sense fixtures. All residences offer individual climate control for year-round heating and cooling, while select units include private outdoor space.
Floor plans / Drawings
Construction Process
Location and contact info
| Address | 4857 Broadway, New York, NY 10034, United States |
| Phone | +1 212 759 4857 |
| Website | http://thestacknyc.com/ |
About GLUCK+
At GLUCK+, design matters and building matters. Better buildings result when architects take on the construction process. Our approach to Architect Led Design Build ensures that the built solution is done right. The evolution of our firm name from Peter Gluck and Partners Architects to GLUCK+ recognizes that our practice has always been inclusive. From designer to builder to owner to developer, we do what it takes and care how it’s done. “Outside our scope” is not in our vocabulary.
Our work is diverse and recognized worldwide through national and international design awards and publications. Our range of projects–from houses, schools, religious buildings, community centers to hotels, university buildings, prefab affordable housing, modular housing, recreation centers, and historic restorations—are all unique because each project is specific. We are dedicated to advocating for the wants and needs of our clients.
Architect Led Design Build
Architect Led Design Build is single-source responsibility for the design, construction and commissioning of buildings. Typically, an owner hires an architect to draw a building and a contractor to oversee the subcontractors that will build the building. This separation is adverse for the quality and cost of building. Project stakeholders lose out.
Architect Led Design Build is an agile process in which the same people are responsible for an entire building project. Our architects are also construction managers, meaning feedback between method of construction and design is fluid and responsive. Priorities between design, cost and schedule are clear. Creativity is responsible.
Architectural Services
Typically an owner makes decisions about their project before an architect is involved. What is the program? Where is the site? How will it affect my budget?
As architects and builders, we have tools that are critical for navigating early unknowns, such as assessing the feasibility of a project and vetting real estate opportunities. We are in a position to help clients strategically plan their project, to determine how much space they actually need, and to test-fit their project on potential sites. We also consider construction options that affect the economic viability of the project, including prefab affordable housing with a beautiful example of Stack modular housing in New York.
Ultimately these early decisions are up to project owners, but we can serve as a valuable resource to clarify options.
Development
Expanding our role allows us to initiate projects that otherwise could not afford to exist.
We consider sites that developers typically shy away from because our experience as architects and builders allows us to find the feasible opportunity. We can consider building uses that are generally deemed non-profitable, such as middle-income housing, prefab affordable housing, because we are also in a position to pair them with less typical, more economic methods of building, such as offsite construction.
Having the wherewithal to find and make projects is not just an opportunity to build better buildings, but to contribute to building a better urban fabric.
We believe coming from the private realm, we have the responsibility to do our part in enriching the lives of people and communities. The integration of our approach to architecture allows us to do that.
| Address | 423 W 127th St #6, New York, NY 10027, United States |
| Phone | +1 212-690-4950 |
| info@gluckplus.com | |
| Website | https://gluckplus.com/ |
Stack Modular Housing - Prefab Affordable Housing, Manhattan, New York