EverBlock's expert design-and-build duo, Ben MacKrell and Arnon Rosan, headed to the World Trade Center's 84th floor to assist in the installation of a life-size model hotel room earlier this May.

The project is for an upcoming renovation of a 1960's NYC landmark building (we'll be sure to tell you where as soon as we can!), so it was only natural that the life-size rendering also took place in an iconic NYC building. And what a view! One World Trade certainly lives up to its impressive stature, inside and out.

Construction on the site is set to begin this coming August, but until then, designs are not yet set in stone. So EverBlock was brought in to assist with the remodeling plans. While designs and layouts are finalized, the construction company, developers, and architects will be able to play and plan in a truly to-scale model of their projected hotel rooms. They can breakdown the block walls into various configurations; moving a HVAC column or doorway threshold from one place to another, creating single bedrooms, suites and more.

All the stake holders were on site for the initial build. The plans were taped out on the floor and as Ben put it, they "colored between the lines" with the blocks, building a full bedroom, bathroom and hallway. Model furniture was laid out and moved around as well; bed frames and bathroom vanities repositioned at whim. The whole full scale build, with turns and curves and columns took under two hours to complete; a seemingly simple project for such extraordinary benefits. Now the engineering team involved will be able to fully immerse themselves in the actual, physical architecture and decor of the room to make the best possible decisions about design and function.

This experiential prototype allows the planners to test different dimensions and get the full feeling of the space. It becomes easier to communicate different aspects of the architectural and structural design as well as envision decor and accent choices when working in true to size and not just miniature cardboard scale models. The existing architecture of the WTC played a role in the building of each space. Having windows with actual skyline views where the windows are meant to be in the hotel room, is a pretty cool feature!

At the completion of the dry-run planning, EverBlock's team will head back to the WTC and disassemble the walls of blocks, pack them back on the pallets and ship back to the warehouse in the Bronx. The architects and development crews will take their finalized plans and go on to revamp this forgotten landmark back to the legendary status it deserves.