Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/96336
ArchitectCulturedMiami_Layout 1 11/20/12 3:45 PM Page 84 Designing the District The redevelopment underway in the Design District has attracted a veritable who's who of architecture. Here, we introduce you to some of the international designers responsible for the transformation. BY DAVID SOKOL BEN ARANDA AND CHRIS LASCH Aranda\Lasch's "JBL project," is one of the new retail projects underway in the Design District. SOU FUJIMOTO, founder of the Tokyo-based Sou Fujimoto Architects, has created the new Palm Courtyard shopfront. Inspired by Miami's rain squalls, the project's rooftop comprises a series of glass fins that channel rainwater into the courtyard in a visual spectacle. Taking Nothing for Granted Fujimoto says his method could be described as "reexamining every little matter," which he likens to creating "future common sense." Domestic Precedents He says the 2010 residence House N—in which one almost-transparent volume is nested inside another—blurs interior and exterior in a manner he tried to re-create in the Palm Courtyard. He also cites last year's Musashino Art University Library as a precedent for his work in Miami. Despite Celebrity, Humility "Our proposals are not aiming to claim a singularity. I believe that the daily experience of our harmonized façade-corridor would enrich the city experience of the Palm Courtyard." 84 CULTURED PHOTO BY DAVID VINTINER (FUJIMOTO); RENDERING COURTESY OF ARANDA\LASCH form the New York-based architecture studio Aranda\Lasch, which also produces furniture and installations. Aranda discusses the projects the firm is currently undertaking in the Design District. Taking the Pulse of the Design District Six years of Design Miami/ commissions "has given us a ringside seat for the evolution of the Design District. It continually attracts a growing audience for restaurants, galleries and events in the city. Watching this helped us understand the neighborhood's potential." Not a Mall Aranda says the JBL project (a working title) embodies the Design District's aspirations of becoming a cultural destination. "Dacra commits to the creation of distinctive architecture with the view that retail works best when it is integrated into a neighborhood. And this experiment in city living happens in a lush landscape with the kind of mature trees and vegetation that only South Florida can offer." TERRY RILEY, along with partner John Keenen, is one half of the Miami- and New York-based K/R Architects. For K/R's Garden Building, the temporary Design District home of Hermès, Riley led the design with Ethan Royal. DNArchitecture Riley grew up in Chicago, where design was in the water. "Even in high school, I knew all the famous buildings and their architects." Expression in the Garden Building "The intelligent use of materials to describe the building's composition and the creation of the glass vines in the main façade are both examples of architectonic thinking." His Vision for the Design District "A walking tour of contemporary architecture" is the neighborhood's near destiny. Riley also foresees this showcase expanding to include a broader area and permit the kind of 24hour living that ultimately improves our energy habits. SCOTT A. LEE is president and principal of SB Architects. The Miami- and San Francisco-based studio is shepherding the first phase of Palm Court's expansion, which introduces retail, commercial and gallery spaces to create a pedestrian district. Step one: Getting to the Essence "The high-end retailers that are the heart of this project wanted to maximize exposure for their very specific and individual expressions of brand." Instead of wedging retailers into pre-devised slots, SB conceived an approach in which stores appear almost as their own freestanding buildings. On Seeking Inspiration from Traditional Cities "People want to be pedestrians. They desire the sense of community that is inherent in urban spaces." Take Note of the Subtropical References Within Palm Court, nature appears in the pattern and texture. "Reconciling with nature gives a building an inimitable sense of place." M t Culturedlotu