Bloomberg announces New York 'microunit' design competition winner

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has today announced the winner of a design competition to develop a building of microunits on a city-owned site in Manhattan’s Kips Bay neighbourhood.

A team made up of Monadnock Development, the Actors Fund Housing Development Corporation and 

nArchitects won with their My Micro NY entry.

The bold plan, known as Adapt NYC, was originally announced in July 2012 in response to the changing demographics of the city, which has 1.8 million one- and two- person households however only one million one-bedroom and studio apartments.

Additionally, current zoning restrictions limit the size of apartments and the number of units able to be developed per lot.

Under the arrangement, the city-owned lot will be sold to the developer, with current zoning restrictions on apartment size and density to be ignored.

The project will be used as a pilot with the intention to roll out planning amendments after the completion of the pilot in 2015.

The apartments will be constructed of pre-fabricated modular units, roughly the size of a shipping container, and assembled atop a concrete foundation and ground floor structure.

My Micro NY will consist of 55 microunits, varying in size from 250 to 370 square feet, with rents starting at US$940 per month.

Communal spaces include an attic garden, a ground-floor porch, dens and a multipurpose lounge, as well as a laundry room, residential storage, a bike room and fitness space. The ground floor will have a café and a multipurpose communal space.

According to Eric Bunge and Mimi Hoang of nArchitects, each unit is separated into two compartments: the Toolbox and the Canvas. The Toolbox consists of the bathroom, the kitchen and a storage loft while the Canvas is a small flexible open space that can be configured however the resident sees fit.