International architects bring their vision and innovation to South Florida: Even before the current real estate cycle took hold, local and international architectural talents were quietly driving ambitious project design in Miami. Stunning visual masterpieces such as the Pérez Art Museum Miami by Herzog & de Meuron and the Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science designed by internationally recognized Grimshaw Architects had captured the public’s imagination. Herzog & de Meuron also designed 1111 Alton Road, the mixed-use garage, retail and event space project built for developer Robert Wennett, which has become a destination for tourists and a significant addition to Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road pedestrian mall. Now that the massive wave of new-build luxury condominiums is underway in the Magic City, the trend of internationally distinguished architectural firms designing them there is more pronounced. And it’s changing the way real estate in the Miami area is developed, built and sold. “It’s a way to differentiate the projects,” said Edgardo Defortuna, who hired Herzog & de Meuron for the upcoming Jade Signature project. The Related Group, the prime mover in many areas of condominium development, was a pioneer of this trend, said Bernardo Fort-Brescia, who heads Miami-based Arquitectonica. He was the architect who used the Atlantis Condominium on Brickell, with the cutout in the middle, to help catapult his firm into international renown. Arquitectonica is currently working on the SLS Brickell hotel and condominium project. Other veterans from the real estate boom, such as Carlos Ott, who designed two Jade projects for Defortuna, are at work again in South Florida, designing Apogee Beach in Hollywood and 1100 Millecento in Miami for Related. Another trend in the market is taking a smaller approach to projects, which is what Kobi Karp did with the 45-residence Palau Sunset Harbour for SMG Management, which includes the Roy E. Disney family investment fund. And developers are using buyer deposits to help pay for construction, which is one of the factors driving the development and planning. With projects smaller in both height and the number of units, architects are being given the freedom to push the boundaries of design to help differentiate and promote them, Karp said. Some developers of large projects, including Asaf “Asi” Cymbal, who’s doing Marina Lofts in Fort Lauderdale, are also demanding ambitious design because of the crossroads nature of the project. For the 1,000-unit Marina Lofts, Cymbal is looking to create a landmark worthy of the type of urban gentrification the project could help bring to an area that has seen little dense development. Source: South Florida Business Journal
Posted on: Sun, 10 Nov 2013 00:50:14 +0000
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