Luxury hotel and residential adaptive reuse
Retaining the existing structure while creating an integrated, all-electric energy system for a new luxury hotel and residential development.
The challenge
An existing commercial building in Midtown Manhattan was being adapted into a luxury hotel and residential development, retaining much of the structure and its embodied carbon. The change in use introduced intensive and overlapping energy demands, particularly for domestic hot water, ventilation, restaurant operations and year-round comfort. The strategy had to meet premium indoor-environment expectations within the constraints of the existing building. A common energy system was therefore required to recover and share energy across the different uses rather than serving each independently.
The system approach
URBS developed an integrated all-electric energy concept centered on a shared hydronic network. The system connects heating, cooling, domestic hot water and recoverable heat sources, allowing energy to move between the hotel, residences and restaurant based on demand. The strategy first reduces demand through envelope and ventilation improvements, then recovers heat from wastewater, refrigeration and cooling before introducing new energy. Geothermal and ambient-air sources supplement the recovered heat, while the building structure and water systems provide thermal storage. The concept established a coordinated energy direction for the adaptive reuse, combining the carbon benefit of retaining the existing structure with a low-emission operational strategy.