West Half / ODA

ODA’s process, just like their design, is fractal by nature - thinking about how cities are made up of small units of life, that operate independently yet are bound by a shared community. This concept has manifested in an iconic new structure in Washington DC’s Navy Yard. West Half, a newly completed multi-family residential complex, houses 465 apartments, nearly 1000 people, in a single square block. And yet the internal circulation of the building, the curated multi-level amenities, rich access to outdoor space, and the cascading nature of the facade creates a connection at the street level and gives the building a transparent, approachable feel, while the bright yellow underbelly of the cantilevers delivers a subliminal layer of color theory 101: Happiness.