It seems like every week, plans for a new building are filed by the architecture firm ODA. Over the last two years, we've written about nearly three dozen different projects by ODA, ranging from towers on the Brooklyn waterfront to small boutique buildings on the Upper West Side. The firm has clearly become a go-to for developers big—TF Cornerstone tapped ODA for phase two of Hunters Point South—and small, and the firm has solidified its position as the experts of Jenga-tecture, i.e. buildings that look like stacked boxes. To track this proliferation of Lego-like structures, we mapped 34 of ODA's most recent commissions—some of which think outside the box.
190 SOUTH 1ST STREET
In South Williamsburg, a 13-story ODA creation is replacing an old one-story warehouse. The new building’s facade is mostly glass—condo buyers love those floor-to-ceiling windows—with bands of masonry separating the floors and wrapping the terraces. ODA also designed the interiors of the 32 condos, which are now on the market with prices starting at $565,000.
22-22 JACKSON AVENUE
Perhaps the boxiest of ODA’s boxy buildings, 22-22 Jackson Avenue, right next to the 5Pointz (RIP) site, is wrapping up construction, and its reality is very close to its rendering. Interestingly, the building used the same cast-in-place construction technique as 432 Park Avenue. The windows of 22-22 Jackson feature maroon frames, and the jenga-stacking allows for a lot of the 175 units to have private outdoor space.
BROOKLYN BRIDGE PARK - PIER 6
ODA’s latest commission is the firm’s highest profile: two new buildings in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The towers, near Pier 6, have courted controversy for months now (neighbors would really prefer they just not be built), and the first renderings were revealed in early July. The designs are very square, and the industrial-looking windows mimic those of One Brooklyn Bridge Park. The taller building will hold market rate condos, while the shorter structure will be affordable and market rate rentals for a total of 339 apartments.
75 NASSAU STREET
In the Financial District, ODA deigned a 500-foot tower with a rooftop forest for developer Lexin Capital. It will bring 197 apartments to the neihghborhood, and of course, many of those apartments have private outdoor space, thanks to ODA’s knack for carving out facades.
510 DRIGGS AVENUE
Renderings for this 5-story building were revealed late last year, but new building permits have yet to be issued (previous building permits were issued in 2007), so the status of the project is unclear. Even so, last October, ODA discussed the designs with Arch Daily, explaining that they are striving to bring the “qualities of a private house” to the building. As such, each apartment has two exposures and private outdoor space.
303 EAST 44TH STREET
On East 44th Street, ODA is designing a 600-foot-tall building with 16 "hanging gardens" that wrap around the facade. The tower will have one- and two-bedroom apartments on its lower floors, and have full-floor apartments from the 21st floor up, which means they will likely be very expensive. Construction should start in September, with completion expected in late 2017.
275 FOURTH AVENUE
Sitting squarely within the "canyon of mediocrity," which is what a Wall Street Journal reporter once called Fourth Avenue, adjacent to Park Slope and Gowanus, 275 Fourth Avenue's promise of 78 rental units, commercial space, and community space may contribute to a revitalization of the area. And yet, Silverstone Property Group, which is developing the building alongside Adam America Real Estate, has said that it plans to give the building a First Avenue address to avoid the negative association.
1444 THIRD AVENUE
Eschewing stacked boxes for glass strata, ODArevealed the rendering for this UES building three years ago. But even as the previous structure on the site comes down, the permits for the ODA-designed, DRK Third Avenue-developed building still have yet to be approved, and some arewondering whether or not the design will have to change.
10 JAY STREET
It took a couple tries, but the interior and exterior makeover for 10 Jay Street, a condominium-to-be fashioned out of an old warehouse in DUMBO, won approval from the Landmarks Preservation Commission in March. The most defining feature of the building, which will contain 46 condos, plus retail space on the first floor, will be its crystal-like facade, which is meant to recall the building's history as a sugar refinery. The building, developed by Triangle Assets, started demolition on May 1 and is expected to be completed by fall of next year.
http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2015/07/21/mapping_odas_dozens_of_new_boxy_buildings_in_nyc.php