Bevel Apartments

Bevel is a fresh take on the industrial chic aesthetic, complete with ODA's signature oversized terraces and access to inner courtyards and gardens. The 202-unit rental building in Long Island City utilizes a fusion of concrete and glass to form a dramatic 85ft atrium in the heart of the building. From there, the stepped facade creates a unique “beveled” shape, allowing more than half of the units to have large private outdoor spaces, either looking out to the New York skyline, or inwards to the building’s botanical gardens.

The atrium itself, supported by 4 super columns, boasts an impressive display of public art, the successor of ODA’s collaboration with local art non-profit, the Bushwick Collective, at Denizen in Bushwick. Inspired by the success of the public art at Denizen, ODA proposed working with the Bushwick Collective again to fill the lobby’s 8-story atrium space with a mural. The Bushwick Collective selected artist Dalek, known for his spacemonkeys series, to design and paint the space. The striking mural peeks through the lobby, engaging passersby outside of the building as well as residents inside the atrium space.

Carving these voids from the ground floor space on the Northeast and Southwest corners of the building dramatically changed the trajectory of the building, while creating unique pockets of human interaction. At the base of the building, these cutouts open up two multi-story atrium spaces, one a garden space, the other an 8-story showcase for a mural. On the flip side, these voids allow for a transfer of FAR to the top of the building, enabling ODA to create the “beveled” stepped facade, moving units higher up for better views as well as additional private outdoor space they wouldn’t get from a typical building massing.

Credits

Client: The Rabsky Group

Designer: ODA New York

Country: United States

Photographs: © Aaron Thompson