Barclays Center becoming landmark for architecture, engineering

Two and a half months after a ribbon-cutting at Barclays Center, Bruce Ratner was again officiating at a ceremony near the corner of Atlantic and Flatbush avenues Tuesday. This time, it was the "ground breaking" for the first of three apartment towers at the east end of the arena.

What differentiates this ceremony from the many ground breakings in New York is that the 32-story, 363-unit tower will be all modular, the tallest pre-fabricated building in the world. Modular units will be put together at a Forest City Ratner plant at the Brooklyn Navy Yard then trucked to the arena and hoisted into place. The ceremony actually took place inside one of the modular units. So, already the subject of architectural interest, the site will now be an engineering landmark as well.

For Nets fans, however, it means years of added congestion on game nights near the Dean Street entrance in particular. B2, as it's called, will take 20 months to complete. Then, there will be a six to nine-month delay before B3, a 22-story tower, goes up. The same cycle will continue with the third tower of 52 stories. In all, the arena will be surrounded by modular construction units for nearly six years. When done, several thousand people will live in the towers adjacent to the arena.

• World's largest 'modular' tower breaks ground at Atlantic Yards site - Rich Calder - New York Post
• Work begins on world's tallest modular spire - Ali Elkin - Crains New York Business