Archinect - News

Construction begins on ODA-designed residential tower along Billionaire's Row

2022-08-02T13:55:00-04:00

Construction has begun on an ODA-designed residential tower along New York City’s Billionaire’s Row. The 175,000-square-foot building will sit at 126 East 57th Street, comprising 175 units. Nearly all of the residences will have private outdoor terraces, creating a pixelated effect across the cast-in-place concrete façade with projections and recesses.

The main entrance will be located on 57th Street and guide residents through a copper, mirrored gateway into a six-story-tall atrium with views of a landscaped courtyard. A gallery continues the journey to the lobby. An alternate entrance along 56th Street will feature a porte cochere for car drop-off.

Rendering by Brick Visual

“This building brings a human scale, playfulness, and visual interest to this upscale corridor of 57th Street,” Founder and Executive Director of ODA, Eran Chen, commented on the design. “As New York City slowly transforms Midtown East to a residential destination, we strive to offer a contemporary outlook for...

Watch the progress of ODA's "Living Facade" in Park Slope

2017-07-18T16:47:00-04:00

Construction of ODA's 251 1st Street residential complex in Park Slope is now reaching completion, demonstrating fragmented massing which the firm believes imbues the structure with a "living facade."

As the architects explain, "ODA’s inflected the building’s upper massing with a cascade of setbacks and terraces, yielding substantial outdoor space, as well as multiple exposures for units." Here's a gif demonstrating the concept from a different perspective:

Photo: Miguel de Guzman

ODA's new condo building 15 Renwick Street "combats cold modernism"

2017-06-15T13:41:00-04:00

The dark, quasi-Victorian corridors of ODA's 31-unit apartment building on New York City's Renwick Street are a purposeful nod toward British-born James Renwick, 19th century scientist and engineer, after which the street is named. The contrast between the portrait-clad hallways and the light, modern rooms they adjoin is striking; the two spaces almost seem to be from two entirely different buildings.

However, as an alliterative press release notes, ODA is purposefully trying to "combat the cold modernism of so much contemporary construction" and the architects appear to succeed, primarily because the interiors don't shy away from texture. While the clean lines and unabashed abstract geometry of the modern canon are prominent here, so is an emphasis on not obscuring or disguising the composition of the materials.

The wood grain, both on the kitchen cabinets and the polished floors, is prominent. Instead of a soulless cradle of anonymous perfection, the dwelling spaces are rooted firm...