To the world Miami Beach equals Art Deco (well, except for the Fontainebleau, which is just as famous. No, actually the world probably thinks the Fontainebleau is deco too) and Art Deco... well, except for the Chrysler Building and maybe something in Paris, equals Miami Beach. South Beach's Art Deco District is a fantasy of flair. Photog Phillip Pessar, who wandered around Downtown Miami shooting many of its spectacular little Beaux Arts things has hit the beach. Do check out his pastel photo parade, with a little Mediterranean Revival thrown in for good measure, after the jump. >>
Now that Faena House, the first tower of the very urbane, luxurious, artsy, utopian-for-rich-people-but-other-people-can-visit Faena District Miami Beach, is finished and owners have begun to take possession of their units, the first one to hit the resale market has done just that. Unit 5B, which is being listed by broker Pablo Alfaro with Douglas Elliman for $14.5 million, still has its just-finished-and-designed-by-the-same-starchitect-as-the-Apple-mothership (Foster + Partners) sheen on it, with white Venetian terrazzo floors, Thassos marble countertops, giant wrap-around 'alero' balcony inspired by Alan Faena's country seat, 4 bedroom, 5.5 baths, and a staff room. Of course anybody who buys it will be surrounded by construction for a hot minute (the rest of the Faena District being unfinished) but once that's done it should be fab-u-lous.
Chinese developers American da Tang Group and China City Construction are planning to bring an "iconic" new building to the former Capital Brickell Place property in Brickell, according to Shanjie Li, the CEO of American Da Tang Group. Curbed Miami once affectionately dubbed the site 'Brickell's Biggest Hole,' because plans to build a tower on the block-sized site in the last real estate boom were abandoned after excavating the foundations. Mr. Li is hoping to negotiate with the Federal Aviation Administration to be allowed to build Miami's tallest skyscraper, but he emphasizes that it is more important that the "whole project be iconic for Miami" he told Curbed through a translator. "Height is only one factor." The project will be mixed use, with residential, retail, and offices. The developers are calling the project CCCC Miami Towers (short for China City Construction Corporation), and they would like to break ground on it early next year.
The exterior of David Sellers's "Archie Bunker." Photos by Sarah Klock.
Fifty years ago this year, a small gang of freshly minted architecture graduates decided to do something radical, something they'd been told they'd never actually do for themselves in the course of their careers: build a house with their own hands.
It was the beginning of a modest revolution in the way that architecture and construction can coexist, and the launch of David Sellers's dizzying adventure of a career. From his base of operations in Vermont's bucolic Mad River Valley, he's designed everything from sleds to electric trains to towns, all following no other guide than his own curiosity and sense of play. At 76, he's just as talkative and energetic as he must have been in 1967, when Life magazine photographed him climbing the living-room wall in his experimental ski lodge and labeled him a "way-out Orpheus."
Grand Central, the much loved Downtown Miami club, is closing its doors at the end of this month to make way for a (relatively) small part of the gargantuan Miami Worldcenter megaproject, with a final bash on Saturday September 26th. Then, according to The Next Miami, it will be replaced with two giant apartment towers holding over 800 rental units containing about a third each of studios, one bedrooms, and two bedrooms, and a few three bedrooms, on top of a ten story parking garage podium. The east tower is proposed to have 43 stories while the west tower has 40, with an overall height of 478 feet above ground. Known as Block G of Worldcenter, and bordering Worldcenter's 7th Avenue Promenade, the project was designed by Cohen Freedman Encinosa and, TNM says, went in front of Miami's Urban Design Review Board yesterday.
The proposed Paseo de la Riviera mixed-use development in Coral Gables survived its Planning and Zoning Board meeting last night without the board issuing a recommendation to either approve or deny it, leaving the project's fate entirely up to the city commission. Board members did suggest lowering the height of the project, including taking one floor off the top of the parking garage, according to the Real Deal. Yet in the end they declined to really go either way on the project, even though or perhaps partly because it has inspired heated controversy among neighbors for being 'too big' as well as enthusiastic support for its pedestrian-friendly urbanism.
· Paseo de la Riviera project heads to city commission [TRD]
· U.S. 1 paseo project could be 'big' news for Coral Gables [Curbed]
Want a little more Curbed Miami in your life? Head over to the Curbed Miami Facebook Page and hit "Like." Our top stories will show up in your Facebook feed, like magic. And while you're at it follow us on Twitter, too. We're tweeting with the handle @CurbedMiami. Of course, while you're at it, you might as well sign up for the daily email newsletter. Just punch in your email below, and we'll add you to the list:
"Someone has yet to attack Moishe Mana for his intentions to "renovate" the old Woolworth/Foot Locker building into a glass box. Even the S. S. Kresge building next door looks better from its 1980s "Flagler Station" renovation than what he wants to do with it. Many of America's great cities still retain their former Woolworth locations with signature Art Deco architecture, but with new retail. For example, Atlanta's is a Hard Rock Cafe and Los Angeles' is a Ross. I assume the latter store will want a new location when One Biscayne Plaza is redeveloped."—Top of the Columbus [Can You Spot These Architectural Details Around Miami?]
A new outdoor green space self-described as a "culinary incubator... entrepreneurial and community hub" is coming to 70 NE 29th Street in Wynwood, called Wynwood Yard. Designed by Wynwood-based architecture firmRoyalByckovas, the project will reportedly have Miami's very first culinary incubator as well as other interesting food things (Eater goes into more detail on that). Architect Ethan Royal of RoyalByckovas says, "The Wynwood Yard will take the excitement and buzz of Art Basel week and extend this 'cultural vacation' throughout the year. Wynwood will finally have a true community destination from which to begin an exploration of this vibrant part of Miami."
Is Mercury in retrograde? On any given day in 2015, there's a 19% chance that yes, Mercury is in retrograde. And your Twitter feed today will confirm that yes, Mercury is in retrograde. Your colleagues, friends, sisters, second cousins thrice removed who read Susan Miller as a contemporary-yet-ancient form of religion will also confirm that yes, Mercury is in retrograde. So what better time to brush up on a little astrology than today, September 17, 2015, the first day of the last Mercury-in-retrograde of this calendar year? We at Curbed wouldn't advocate for just any old horoscope, though: See how closely your star sign aligns with your favorite architects and designers. And for Zeus's sake, remain flexible, allow extra time for travel, and avoid signing contracts—at least until October 9.
Finally, since its introduction to Miami mucho years ago (okay three years ago, but it feels like forever), Car2Go is finally making its biggest South Florida expansion yet says the car sharing company. Car2Go is coming to Miami Beach on October 1st.
The Lord Balfour Hotel, which was just renovated in 2013, is building a new expansion in the empty lot next door, to its south. Designed by EoA Architects, and being built by Amicon Construction, the contemporary structure with sort of a sailing ship-like wooden facade will contrast with the art deco hotel next door. Enclosed will be 17 new guest rooms, two rooftop lounge areas, and a 'spa pool,' which is probably something in between a hot tub and a pool. Construction is beginning this month, with completion scheduled for next fall. Oh, and just because history and place names are interesting, according to a rep: "Originally built in 1940, the Art Deco boutique hotel was named after the former British Prime Minister Arthur James Balfour." So, there you go.