Miami Experience

Last weekend, I was invited by Floor Focus magazine to attend an awards celebration in South Beach, Florida. Sponsoring the event were Bentley Prince Street, Centiva, Crossville Tile, Floor Focus, and Johnsonite. The magazine honored four design firms for dynamic integration of flooring within the overall design of a space. Mancini Duffy received the Grand Prize for our design of new offices for the law firm Fitzpatrick Cella Harper and Scinto, in Manhattan. A brief interview that followed the event can be heard here.

While in South Beach, I enjoyed a walking tour of the Art Deco District, focusing on the Ocean Drive properties located south of 15th Street. Art Deco made its debut in 1925 at an exposition in Paris, creating a new design vocabulary based on early neoclassical styles with the application of bas-relief motifs including flora, fauna, and strong geometric patterns. From the 1930's until the 1970's, the neighborhood was primarily home to many retirees, as well as a mix of transients, and the buildings fell into a severe state of disrepair. It wasn't until 1979, when the neighborhood was under threat of being razed to make way for new high-rise construction, that the buildings were recognized for their significance within the urban fabric of South Beach. It was at that time that preservationists first added subdued tones of color to pronounce the clean lines and finely crafted details of the Deco style. See images below.

A few blocks away, in sharp architectural contrast, I also visited Herzog and de Meuron's recently opened car park at 1111 Lincoln Road. The seven-story structure features varying slab-to-slab heights and an elegantly sweeping ramp which spirals upward, revealing spectacular views of Miami. The evolution of parking structure as pedestrian destination creates an interesting and utterly unique mix of form and function. The structure itself is quietly poetic in details, including knife-edge slab cuts and complex folding stairways, which further create a sense of theatre and discovery as you experience the building. The lasting impression is one of refinement; by eliminating any exterior curtain wall system, the building appears to be very light and airy. See images below.