I assumed the role of lead exterior designer for the retail component (podium) of a mixed-use project located in Miami, Florida. Occupying 3 city blocks, the project consisted of 1 million square feet of retail, 2 million square feet of parking and 2 towers. The 8-story podium (approximately 410’ x 950’) is comprised of 3 levels of retail below 5 levels of parking.

The project features a hotel tower designed by Stantec and a residential tower designed by Elkus Manfredi. A rooftop amenity deck featuring residential units and a nightclub, provides an active podium roofscape. The project is currently under construction with a revised podium design. The podium transformed from an enclosed retail center to an outdoor shopping center, as market trends have changed over time.

The site is adjacent to the American Airlines Arena, I-95, I-395, rail transit lines and the Perez Art museum. Waterfront access is directly east of the site. To the west is the NAP Center, a fiber optic data and internet exchange. An important site factor, it is a primary pathway for data traffic from the Caribbean, Central and South America. The location of the site combined with the client’s desire to create an international destination, was the impetus for the project’s concept.

The project was conceived as a gateway to South America. The intent was to create an international tourist destination that could provide a branding identity akin to a center for cultural exchange. The project’s inspiration came from Iguazu Falls, which is situated on the border of Argentina and Brazil. The characteristics of this concept was one that would shape the project’s architectural language. Functionally the concept of a waterfall would translate into an architectural framework that would clad the parking structure and provide a unique identity for the retail base. The advantage of this grand gesture was that it would provide a cohesive system capable of uniting a very large area of development.

My goal was to establish an architectural language that had merit on its own, without being fully reliant on the design concept. My responsibility was to synthesize the design concept from literal to abstract via a series of design studies. As the architecture took shape, I led the facade coordination efforts with Zahner metal fabricators in Kansas City, developing a full-scale mock-up of the stainless-steel metal cladding systems.

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