Recently, the citizenM Menlo Park Hotel, officially opened in California’s Silicon Valley. The manufacture of the 240 modular guest rooms was completed 1 year ago, when the modules were shipped from China to the United States and assembled on-site like LEGO blocks. The volumetric modules for the project were provided by CIMC Modular Building Holding Company Limited (“CIMC MBS”), a subsidiary of CIMC Construction Technology Company Limited of CIMC Group.
Similar to other CIMC MBS modular projects in a variety of seismic regions around the world, this project relies entirely on the modules themselves to meet the seismic design category level E, resisting seismic forces in the zone where the hotel is located and completely unaffected.
The citizenM Menlo Park Hotel, developed by the internationally renowned boutique hotel chain citizenM, and is located in Silicon Valley, the hub of high-tech companies in the US. It is situated near the headquarters of Google, Meta (formerly known as Facebook), Apple, and Stanford University, among other world-famous companies and universities.
The hotel is 5 storeys tall and is composed of 161 modules, with a total of 240 guest rooms. Each room is equipped with an intelligent room management system, enabling guests to control the TV, heating, air conditioning, day/night shades and lights within the rooms through use of tablet computers. By downloading the citizenM APP guests can also check-in and out, use other room reservation services and track the hotel’s sustainability performance.
It is worth mentioning that the hotel project is located in California, USA, which falls within the Pacific Ring of Fire, a highly seismic zone with stringent requirements for various aspects of building performance. With respect to structural design, CIMC MBS’s design team has collaborated extensively with local structural consultants in the US. They also drew upon the successful experience of constructing the first high-rise modular building for citizenM in Los Angeles, named citizenM DTLA Hotel. This allowed them to continually optimize the volumetric steel structure system and construction processes.
For the curtain wall windows of the project, in addition to meeting local regulations and the owner’s high requirements for thermal insulation and soundproofing, consideration also had to be given to inter-story displacement attributed to seismicity to prevent module deformation from exerting pressure on the glass. By learning from other previously successful modular case studies and combining them with project-specific considerations, the design team overcame the challenges of the curtain wall windows and obtained certification from the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) in the United States. The project relies entirely on the modules themselves to resist seismic forces, with a seismic design intensity level of E (the highest being F).
In recent years, the USA has revised its regulations multiple times to strengthen requirements for seismic design due to concerns about strong earthquakes. The US government has also provided various incentives to encourage owners to retrofit existing buildings for seismic strengthening. Against this backdrop, seismic performance is paramount, especially for high-rise building projects.
Both the citizenM Menlo Park Hotel and the citizenM DTLA Hotel are located in high seismic intensity zones in the US. The successful experience in delivering these projects is replicable, demonstrating the significant expansion potential for CIMC MBS’s business in the US.
Throughout the project construction process, CIMC MBS maintained a high level of client collaboration. The modules integrated multiple professional disciplines, such as design, craftsmanship, quality control, supply chain management, and logistics
By fully applying digital and technological project management tools and full life cycle lean improvement processes, not only was the construction period of the citizenM Menlo Park hotel project significantly shorter than that of the citizenM, DTLA project, the product quality was also greatly enhanced.
In addition, in terms of environmental protection, the citizenM Menlo Park hotel project is designed and constructed in accordance with the US LEED Certification – gold level requirements. CIMC MBS completes more than 90% of the fit out and decoration process in the factory. The high prefabrication rate greatly reduces material wastage and carbon emissions. The use of modular construction with modules manufactured off-site, also greatly reduces the impact of noise and dust on surrounding communities and the environment.
In recent years, CIMC MBS has delivered many hotel and apartment projects in California, USA, actively contributing to urban renewal, creating low-carbon communities, and developing livable cities. For example, the Graduate Student Housing project at the University of California, Berkeley, was the first steel modular housing project constructed by a Chinese enterprise in the US. The citizenM DTLA Hotel is the world’s first high-rise modular building project located in a high seismic intensity area.
Victor Zhu, the General Manager of CIMC MBS, stated that looking ahead, CIMC MBS will continue to leverage Chinese advantages, pursue win-win cooperation, and promote global business development, including North America. The Company will also shoulder social responsibilities and contribute to the industry’s and society’s sustainable development.
