2222 Jackson Ave

Location: 2222 Jackson Avenue, Long Island City, NY, USA
Client: Gershon Equities
Size: 168,000 sf
Architect: ODA New York
Team: Eran Chen, P. Christian Bailey, Ryoko Okada, Elizabeth Snow, Kris Levine, Karen Evans, Carolina Moscoso, Keith Burns

Just steps from MoMA PS1 in white hot Long Island City Queens, ODA New York is upending the real estate market with an 11-story, 175-unit rental project to rival the best of luxury condo living.
 
Distinguished by its sculptural, almost pixelated, poured concrete exterior, 2222 Jackson is both an easy material compliment to neighboring PS1, and an exemplar of its designer’s larger mission: Adept at working within—rather than against—zoning constraints, ODA has once again focused on innovating architectural morphology in the interest of improving not only its residents’ everyday experience, but their general quality of life. 

Inventive use of individual modules forms the foundation for 2222 Jackson, yielding its distinctive silhouette. Jackson was conceived, first and foremost, as a simple, modular grid comprising a sequence of bays, each twelve feet wide. Studio apartments are 32 feet in length and occupy the width of one bay, while the one, two, and three bedroom units are each 25 feet long and capture two, three, and four bays respectively.
 
Typifying ODA’s modus operandi, wherein form never precedes function, this strategic modular approach has implications well beyond simple aesthetics. Given the greater length relative to other units, each studio apartment projects seven feet past Jackson’s façade line, producing two significant benefits: mid-facade “corner” windows and a terrace for the apartment above. 

The ultimate result is a substantial increase in available outdoor space (30% more than the original footprint would have allowed) distributed over a powerful composition of 50 terraces scattered along the exterior—a three-dimensional cascade of life and activity. 

By playing with the massing in this way, ODA rejects what would otherwise be a generic rental box, instead producing a new template for working within common zoning constraints: an axonometric structure with a uniquely articulated façade accommodating substantial outdoor areas (highly coveted though often conventionally impractical amenities in many urban environments). The firm’s straightforward, modular design also allows for vastly increased flexibility and adaptability in layout, while simultaneously facilitating a simplified, streamlined, and highly efficient construction process. 

Inside 2222 Jackson, the exterior material palette is mirrored in large swaths of exposed concrete suffusing the triple-height lobby. And throughout the building, ODA’s installed a multitude of high-end appointments and amenities: An amenity club—complete with airy, sky-lit indoor pool and adjacent landscaped terrace; residents’ lounge; and state-of-the-art fitness center—graces a third floor mezzanine. And an expansive rooftop deck provides sweeping views of Manhattan.

Units themselves are congruently well appointed: Each unit features expansive windows, white oak flooring, custom stone countertops, and high-end appliances. Residents also have enviable access to onsite valet parking, as well as washers/dryers on every floor. 

Eran Chen, Founder and Executive Director of ODA New York:

We are always looking for opportunities to redefine some very fundamental aspects of what we’ve come to accept in urban living, and 2222 Jackson was our first project with which we began to explore the concept of a "vertical village."  By designing a playful façade with projected bays, we were able not only to bring a flood of natural light to mid-façade "corner" units, but also to provide outdoor spaces, both very precious commodities not commonly available in the urban rental market.