The Hilton Palacio del Rio Hotel in San Antonio is today hailed as a historical landmark due to the innovative way in which it was built: the offsite modular construction method. This ingenious new way of building was employed by the H.B. Zachry Co. in order to meet the hotel’s tight construction deadline. Built in a total of 202 days, the 21 story, 496 room hotel was rapidly constructed in time for the April 1968 World’s Fair. Deemed the “Instant Hilton” by Popular Science, the hotel rooms were completed offsite, right down to carpeted floors and room numbers on the doors. The hotel opened its doors just in time for the opening of the Fair by shortening the construction cycle from the typical two years to just nine months.

The Palacio’s modular units utilized poured concrete for floors and walls; today, modern modular construction methods are more refined. At DeLuxe, we’ve replaced that poured concrete with innovative floor and wall panels. Our advances in technology have enabled lighter construction, which negates the need for heavier, expensive on-site construction equipment during installation.
Our methods may have changed, but the Palacio still stands as a remarkable example of what modular construction is capable of achieving. The hotel met its construction deadline and set a precedent for modular hotel construction, proving that the many advantages of modular worked then and work even better now to create a beautiful, finished hotel. 

Read more about the Hilton Palacio del Rio’s unique Modular Construction here 

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