ODA develops 800,000ft of residential space in 416-420 kent towers
all images courtesy of bloomimages
ODA challenges the archetypal towers of new york city with ‘416-420 kent’, an expansive three-building project on the east river waterfront. once the epicenter of the city’s industry, the area — just south of the williamsburg bridge — has massive potential that for years has gone unrealized. that is, until the site came into the possession of spitzer enterprises, who commissioned ODA to design 800,000 feet of residential space.
view from kent avenue
three, 22-story structures comprised of 857 apartment units were developed — with 20% of the total reserved as affordable housing. using two standard floor plans, and mirroring them about a central axis, the towers manage to side-step one of NYC’s most common issues: lack of corner units. traditionally, four coveted spaces had to be sparred for floor by floor. due to its re-imagined architectural language, ‘416-420 kent’ provides three-sided views in more than 80% of the apartments.
numerous roof levels and projections are programed with diverse activities
besides allowing for mid-floor corner residences, cantilevered structural shifts are used to create private garden terraces — another ODA trademark and equally coveted rarity in the city. adding a third dimension to the envelope enables intimate moments of interaction to occur both inside and out, and boasts sight lines onto the williamsburg bridge, east river, and eastern manhattan. ‘kent’s’ promenade will add to the communal boardwalk stretching from greenpoint to dumbo, and approximately 77,000ft2 of outdoor space will be available to residents.
tower spatial relation
manhattan view framed by the towers
shifting allows for a more open vista and increased amount of sunlight exposure
shifting the central axis provides premium units with three-side views and terraces
the three dimensional envelope provides horizontal surfaces for a vertical village lifestyle
typical floor plans are mirrored around a central axis to create the multi-plane façade and ‘corner’ units
tower diagram
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edited by: nick brink | designboom
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This new age brutalist architecture brings nothing new and retains all the negatives of the past. Placing this complex on the waterfront of a lively neighborhood robs it’s own populace by providing the benefit to very few. ODA continues to recycle and offer bad copies without any ingenuity or thought. Ten years from now we all will wonder why this monstrocity was built, and will have a hard time to come up with any good reason.
The 1980’s called – they want their building design back
Regardless of the corner window explanation’ these are ungainly buildings. Aggressive against the curve of the bridge and the horizontal of the river…What is so great about corner windows that look into neighbor’s windows? And aren’t we concerned about energy loss and heat gain?
Also, the setting sun will reflect back into Manhattan on hot summer days.
This needs more thinking.