PHOTOS: WWW.IMAGENSUBLIMINAL.COM
100 NORFOLK
WWW.ODA-ARCHITECTURE.COM
Beyond an acute awareness of elements such as context and the
needs of its community, ODA New York’s brand DNA is earmarked,
in particular, by a special dexterity with - or even mastery of - the
city’s byzantine zoning code; a kind of sixth sense for navigating
the various restrictions and regulations in a way that enables
ODA to consistently challenge architectural convention. That
zoning facility is on full display in the brand’s latest multifamily
masterstroke. Indeed, located on NYC’s lower east side, 100
Norfolk quite literally turns convention on its head.
Situated on a narrow lot between Delancey and Rivington
Streets, Norfolk’s site would ordinarily dictate a fairly standard
form: a planar rectangle which, per setback rules, would be
constrained beyond a certain height, offering the best light and
views to a limited few, likely at a premium.
It’s a tired and inherently exclusive format, and one which
ODA effectively eschews with one brazen question. Instead of
locating the bulk of the building’s mass at its base - where fresh
air and sunlight are diminished, and street noise abounds - ODA
wondered whether the massing could essentially be reversed,