Manhattan apartments warm to Wraptite® airtight offsite solution
East Broadway Residences is located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York. The building has been designed and manufactured as a volumetric offsite project by Brooklyn based architects Think! Architects to create an apartment block consisting of 63 volumetric modules. OCCA Offsite based in Istanbul, Turkey is the manufacturing contractor for the volumetric modules.
One key benefit of Wraptite concerning offsite is that it is designed to ensure that the performance of the factory fitted membrane is not compromised during transportation from factory to site. Wraptite offers a simplified system and provides a fully self-adhered vapour permeable air barrier certified by the BBA and combines the important properties of vapour permeability and airtightness in one self-adhering membrane.
The self-adhesive membrane was applied in the factory, bonded externally to the exterior walls and roof. Ensuring the membrane was held firmly in place was critical to maintaining the quality of the system during ocean transportation and stacking at the construction site.
Applied externally on the outside of the structural frame, Wraptite simplifies the process of maintaining the envelope’s integrity, as there are fewer building services and structural penetrations to be sealed. Window frames were installed offsite and detailed with the Wraptite self-adhesive membrane to attain a watertight window and facade system. Each of the volumetric modules was fully furnished with bathrooms and kitchens including MEP systems and as well as fire sprinkler systems. A site installed rainscreen facade from natural stone was mechanically installed on site.
The installation of Wraptite was a rapid process due to its advanced, easy to apply self-adhesive design and ensured complete water tightness during all phases of manufacturing and the final installation on-site.
The high vapour permeability of Wraptite allows the substrate beneath to dry quickly and moisture vapour to escape, and reduces the likelihood of mould, mildew, condensation, timber distortion and metal corrosion.