“We are thrilled to be part of Fort Lauderdale’s transformation into a robust forward-thinking city and international destination.”, spoke Eran Chen, the founder, and executive of ODA. With this statement, ODA designs introduced “Ombelle” or tapered skyscrapers wrapped in steel grid in Venice of America, Fort Lauderdale.
As the city of Florida, Fort Lauderdale is already known for being the third-highest port in the world, the Second Seminole War, and always being a favorite spot for snowbirds; therefore, the addition of the twin-tower apartment(Ombelle) will act as the cherry on the cake. The spectrum from socio-cultural relevance to zoning, ideas to details, and materials to structural elements, everything is discussed below.
Why Ombelle in Lauderdale? | Fort Lauderdale
“Architecture cannot be understood without some knowledge of the society it serves.”– Hugh Casson, the British Architect.
As Socio-cultural relevance is mandatory to design a building at some place, similarly, ODA’s design of tapered skyscrapers wrapped in a steel grid in Fort Lauderdale will get amalgamated into the environment. Ombelle, with its commercial complex, community-engaging spaces, and pleasing façade, tends to balance with the city known for its high-spirited lifestyles in entertainment, concerts, beaches, art, festivals, cultures, and even professional venues.
Where is Ombelle?
The tallest residential building in South Florida will get constructed in the Flagler village, the northeast part of the city that shifted rapidly from industrial to residential and public areas. Encompassed within the water bodies(sea, lakes, and ports), the tapered skyscrapers by ODA designs lie next to the commercial corridor of the Fort Lauderdale riverfront, which functions for public attractions, transportation hubs, the downtown area, and housing units.
How does Ombelle’s orientation help?
Specific building orientation and positioning of both the structures decide many fundamentals, such as:
- Optimizing energy– Maximum free energy by natural light and wind will help ventilate and permeate the building.
- Rainwater harvesting– By taking advantage of site conditions, rainwater harvesting will work through the prevailing winds.
- Ventilation(on streets)– Transitioning L-shaped towers to Base-shaped ones while complementing the skyline will help to provide more light and air on the adjacent streets.
- Views– Providing panoramic views of the site with the formation of a beautiful-sculpted structure over the skyline of Florida. Also, people even enjoy the street views from the base of the structure.
- Community interaction– The podium strategic segregation at two highly noticeable corners of the site, one on the North-West corner of West Boulevard and 4th South-West Avenue and the other at the South-East corner of Nugent Avenue, introduce the social spaces like covered plazas to connect street life.
What are the zones in Ombelle?
The ODA-designed tapered skyscrapers wrapped in a steel grid in Fort Lauderdale include 11217 sq. ft of commercial/retail zone, a 9-story podium incorporating 1100 parking spaces, and 1100 apartments. Moreover, there is a segregation of commercial and residential units having a 10-floor podium acting as a base and the remaining 33 floors above used for twin-mixed towers providing luxurious experiences.
The Base
The ground and mezzanine-floor areas of 10,000 sq.ft.(930 sq.m) dedicated to commercial space includes retail spaces, reception area, art gallery, waiting area, package rooms, loading docks, lounge, parking, and other services (BOH, trash rooms, FPL vaults). On the other hand, there are plazas on the exterior, which have an outdoor dining area, water features, comfortable sittings, and landscaping.
From parking level 2nd to 9th floor, a common layout follows. The peripheral boundary from three sides of the structure includes types like 1 Bedroom, Jr. 1 Bedroom, and studios ranging from 413 to 795 sq. ft. The remaining 85% approx. of the floorplate is kept for Parking, Exhaust ducts, and services.
The interiors of the Amenity level on the 10th floor have game lounges, a library, a gymnasium, spa areas, yoga and dance studios, a co-working zone, and a bar with dining halls. Although, the exterior has quite exciting things like Swimming pools, Open-to-sky gyms, Dining lounges, a Cocktail/Juice bar, water features, and lots of beautiful-shaded seatings with pergolas, cabanas, and landscaping elements. From the terrace, both the towers taper skywards.
The Twin mixed towers
As it is true that the tapering of skyscrapers totally depends on the change of floor plate area, likewise, ODA designs smartly followed the principles in five distinctive bands without disturbing the 12,500 sq. ft super built-up area throughout. As the narrowing happens at different angles, the horizontal element started from the base of the tower chamfers uniformly(first to the third band) till the central height, and later the skyscrapers get skewed(fourth and fifth band) from one side.
First band, the residential levels from the 11th to 18th floor had an L-shaped super built-up area consisting of units like 2 Bedrooms, 1 Bedroom and Dining hall, 1 Bedroom, Jr. 1 Bedroom, and Studios between 443 sq. ft to 912 sq. ft.
Second band, the residential levels from the 19th to 23rd floor have almost the same super built-up area as the first, altered by a few degrees at the inner end of L-shaped structures, specifically in 1 Bedroom and Dining units.
Third band, the residential levels from 24th to 28th floorshow a higher degree of change in shape and an increase of 2 Bedroom units, increasing the built-up area of units till 1029 sq. ft.
Fourth band, the residential levels from 29th to 32nd floormade a shockingly change of super built-up area by extending the length by 10ft. from one side of the tower. It has even resulted in almost doubling the quantity of 1 Bedroom units(between 629 to 713 sq.ft.) and decreasing the 2 Bedroom units(around 1000 sq.ft.) to half.
Fifth band, the residential levels from 33rd to 43rd floor, changed their shape to rectangular super built-up area which ranges from 400-450 sq. ft. studios and Jr. 1 Bedrooms to 650-850 sq. ft. 1 Bedroom units and 1 Bedroom with Dining hall units to 900-1000 sq. ft. 2 Bedroom units. Also, the last two levels of the skyscrapers will be spacious and luxurious penthouse-loft units.
From one perspective, the base and the twin mixed towers are at opposite poles due to their forms but are indistinguishable when it comes to societal engagement.
<<When does Ombelle astonish us?>>
The headline “ODA designs tapered skyscrapers wrapped in steel grid in Fort Lauderdale” not only got highlighted everywhere but even proved how slowly and steadily the firm influences the life of the cities beautifully. For instance, their highly conceptual-design schemes not only astonished the world with one or two but five vital features in Ombelle. Some of the features that bring the building to life are:-
– “Umbel” is an English translation of the French word Ombelle, which is a flower that consists of short flowers coming from one common point(as twin towers come from a common base).
– “Accordion” is a musical instrument that looks like the structure when metal beams run outside the glass façade.
2. Exoskeleton
– The steel mesh or exoskeleton provided externally, other than helping structurally, even adds an intriguing identity to the façade of Ombelle.
3. Façade
“The striking facade is made up of a delicate exoskeleton with an outer shell of terraces and balconies varying in depth, length, and density to create a feeling of individual identity between homes,” explained ODA.
– The exterior of the structure is unique in its floor-to-ceiling glass wall system, the parking garages wrapped with perforated panels, filling the building with natural light and air, and its enclosed terraces accentuated in a verdant landscape.
4. Materials
– Metal claddings at plaza soffit, glass, guardrails, architectural screens, stone pavers at amenity decks and plaza, vertical steel frames, and stucco cladding can be considered as main materials of the building.
5. Landscape
– Whether the landscaping elements surround the plaza on the ground floor, amenity floor, or even on balconies, the essence of it added a flavor to Ombelle.
Ombelle is Unique! | Fort Lauderdale
Ombelle is unique because it connects society on one side but maintains privacy on the other end.
Ombelle is unique because of the use of its simple glass façade on one side but the play of rhythms through balconies and metal framing on the other.
Ombelle is unique because it might have a futuristic design due to the tapered towers and commercial-residential play but is a vertical village on the other side.
Ombelle is unique…
Citations
- 2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.dezeen.com/2022/06/02/oda-ombelle-fort-lauderdale/> [Accessed 9 June 2022].
- www.surfacesreporter.com. 2022. ODA Unveils South Florida’s Tallest Residential Towers, Wrapped in Steel Grid. [online] Available at: <https://www.surfacesreporter.com/articles/134167/oda-unveils-south-floridas-tallest-residential-towers-wrapped-in-steel-grid> [Accessed 9 June 2022].
- Oda-architecture.com. 2022. ODA-Architecture Projects/Residential. [online] Available at: <http://www.oda-architecture.com/projects/residential> [Accessed 9 June 2022].
- The Next Miami. 2022. New York Developer Submits Plans For Twin-Tower Ombelle In Fort Lauderdale. [online] Available at: <https://www.thenextmiami.com/new-york-developer-submits-plans-for-twin-tower-ombelle-in-fort-lauderdale/> [Accessed 9 June 2022].
- Scribd. 2022. Ombelle | PDF | Land Management | Civil Engineering. [online] Available at: <https://www.scribd.com/document/575582388/ombelle#fullscreen&from_embed> [Accessed 9 June 2022].
