Miami has no doubt come of age as a City, and there is global interest in all that our city has to offer. As Architects and Designers, that growth is an exciting opportunity to redefine our city for the future, while looking at our own culture, climate and history for inspiration.
When designing for a City like ours that is relatively young – there can be a temptation to look to places like New York or Europe for inspiration and to shape our buildings and spaces. However, as Miami architects we see that as a lost opportunity to shape our own identity. Spaces and buildings built for northern climates just do not translate well here.
We see the amount of grey and black “industrial” buildings going up in Wynwood that are attempting to look like Brooklyn and we shake our heads. We see the masses of bland skyscrapers with no distinguishing architecture which really could be any place and we also do not think these buildings capture the spirit of our city. And when a design show like Design Miami comes annually to our City but does not really showcase or elevate any real design from Miami or Miamians – it leaves us wondering: Why? We know plenty of great designers and we are proud of the work done here. What is Miamian Design now and how is it going to manifest in the decades to come?
Our Miami Identity and History
We are a young city, but we do have a vocabulary and a palette that can be argued is distinctly our own as well as our own Miami inspired architectural language. And we have had moments where our vision for architecture and design captured the imagination for the world.
In the 1920s we had our own version of Deco – and ours was a burst of creativity and joie de vivre. Art Deco, Miami Beach style – was festooned with tropical motifs, palms and shells and came in delightful colors. Miami Art Deco is different than New York or Paris. It is even different than Havana Art Deco. It was inspired by our tropical nature, our light and it was took materials like terrazzo and concrete and made them magical and fun.
In the 1950s and 60s the Rat Pack and Bond came to Miami and Mimo (Mid Century Modern Miami) was born. This was brilliantly defied by Lapidus and all along the coast. Pencil thin columns, fun geometric shapes, “cheeseholes” cut in the concrete, bold graphic patterns, brise soleil (sun screens) to cut the glare of the sun. All of these elements were combined to make a fantasy world of Miami and Miami Beach – a truly futuristic view of tropical modern.
And then came the 1980’s – the Miami Vice era where Arquitectonica defined the Miami skyline, and buildings with holes and bold shapes and colors started to attract a lot of attention. Barbara Capitman fought to save the Deco district and Leonard Horowitz came up with a palette revitalized the colors to make them fresh and gave us all a new “Miami Beach palette”. Those opening credits of Miami Vice with playful, brightly colored bold forms of the Arquitectonica Imperial and Atlantis plus the shots of the Deco District drove fashion and design globally.
Our own Architecture Roots and Influences at Touzet Studio
Before forming Touzet Studio, Carlos and I both worked at Arquitectonica (he was one of their first employees and we both worked there as VPs at different times). Any good designer interested in modern architecture coming to Miami wanted to work there- they were one of the very few global design firms that produced modern work. All the other major Miami firms at that time were still enamored of a faux “Mediterranean” / Postmodern vocabulary- which both Carlos and I heartily disliked. Post Modernism seemed trendy and bloated, and a lot of it was produced cheaply with foam columns and fake details. We loved working at Arquitectonica. At that time there was a sense that they were searching for an authentic and unique architectural and design expression for Miami. Laurinda loved Lapidus and patterns inspired by nature and Bernardo was a master at bold geometries. Both of them were not afraid to embrace color, form and whimsy.
Carlos and I considered ourselves contextual “modernists” architects, in the sense that we felt buildings needed to be of their time – not weak imitations of another time or place. We like to say we were born in Cuba but raised (mostly) on Miami soil. We both did a brief stint in the Northeast for college- he went to Princeton, I went to Cornell. When we met we discovered that we were both Le Corbusier fans. However, as Cubans- both shared a love for the more decadent, lyrical later work of Le Corbusier, when he dropped the rigid machine living and went for the poetry, not when he was an urbanist trying for world domination. And we are both profoundly grateful his plans for Havana were never built becuase it would have been deadly.
But most of our shared passion and inspiration came from our own region and culture. We both were energized and very influenced by the work done by our predecessors in Cuba, the Caribbean, Latin American, Florida and Brazil. Porro, Romanach, Candela, Hampton, Politsky. Many of those architects were bending modernism to suit their culture and their climate. They were decolonizing themselves and creating a new language. That type of super sexy tropical modern was much more our style than the cold hard modernism of the Bauhaus. We loved the sun screens and the riffs on colonial – the nods to African roots, the joyful use of color and form. The boldness of the experimentation that they did with concrete. And looking at the deeper roots of our collective regional history – we love the contribution of Moorish, African and Indigenous builders who understood how to build for heat, water and winds – so many lessons there for all of us now.
Miami Design, the way we see it
What is Miami Design? With so many different voices and perspectives – it is obviously varied, and ever changing. And yet. There are common threads. For us: the quintessential Miamian language is fun, modern and sensual. It is respectful of climate and culture. If you ask a real Miamian – they will tell you that Miami is a collection of 14,15 different and distinct neighborhoods – each with their own identity. Coconut Grove is very different than South Beach. And Brickell is not at all like Coral Gables. And so on. And we like it that way- we like a melting pot where the parts are not fully melted.
However to the rest of the world – Miami Beach and Miami all blur together – and there should be some common thread. So, what is it?
Ours is a language rooted in our sunny and challenging climate, our somewhat wild nature. It is lighter, brighter and more free. It allows for fully immersive connection to nature, when desired and it allows us to protect from the sun, heat and water when needed.
Miamian design should be bold and technologically advanced, for the future climate challenges we will face. Bold in the use of shape and sculpting of light. It should engage all the senses – for ours is a highly sensual and sensory kind of design of the lush tropics.
New York or LA architects are more than welcome to come play in our City- but they should leave their drab greys and buttoned up architecture behind.The only major Subtropical City in the US – we need to look and feel like no place else, and we have much that is of value to share with the rest of the world.
