citizenM Hotel Menlo Park

Award Criteria

Architectural Excellence

Situated at Meta’s headquarters in the San Francisco Bay area, this 5-story hotel comprises 240 guestrooms embodying “affordable luxury.” It was constructed using a traditional podium and 161 guestroom modules. The standout architectural element is a spiraling red stairwell adorned with a vibrant steel plate, aligning with the distinctive citizenM brand color. Upon entering the building, the open lobby exudes a welcoming “living room” atmosphere, featuring playful, colorful art and shelves displaying an assortment of intriguing knickknacks and books. Every guestroom is an 8-foot wide area where the beds span the entire width of the room, positioned against expansive windows to offer optimal views. Towards the center of the room, guests will discover a bathroom area, featuring a prefabricated shower pod with a wall-mounted toilet and a shower space that can be illuminated with a range of RGB lighting options, enhancing the tech-forward ambiance during the stay.

Technical Innovation & Sustainability

This building is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification. The contemporary exterior, featuring metal panel cladding and large high profile low-e double-glazed windows, envelops the structure with outstanding seismic performance. All fully finished modules are engineered for airtightness and effective insulation, playing a role in minimizing energy consumption and elevating the building’s thermal performance. Each modular unit was not only manufactured with a fully finished guestroom with MEP services built in, but also included a prefabricated riser system within the service shaft. This system contributes to further improving on-site construction efficiency. In each guestroom, a cutting-edge tablet manages the room’s temperature, blinds and lighting, offering a spectrum of colors. Guests can also download the citizenM APP to have full control of the above-mentioned features, as well as check-in, check-out, order room service and track the hotel’s sustainability performance.

Cost Effectiveness

By utilizing modular construction method, this citizenM Hotel has witnessed faster construction times, greater design flexibility, and improved energy efficiency, while minimizing local impact and on-site noise, as well as construction pollution. The advancements in prefabrication technologies, in contrast to conventional building methods, allowed the team to complete the on-site assembly of all modules in a swift two months. This enables the owner to open the hotel by November 27th 2023, which is just 13 months from breaking ground or 19 months from starting fabrication of modules.