REACH FOR THE SKY

YOUR EARLY WORK IN MIAMI AT ARQUITECTONICA WAS CONSIDERED AUDACIOUS AND REDEFINED THE MIAMI SKYLINE. WHAT EMBOLDENED YOU TO BREAK THE MOLD? When we started our practice, Miami was losing its luster. The Art Deco and 60's Lapidus times were long gone. The city was changing rapidly from snowbird resort Architect Bernardo Fort-Brescia town to an international business and leisure hub. We felt the architecture could helped reshape the Miami help visually communicate the new Miami to the world. The work had to tell the skyline, inspired by wind story of the urban tropics. and water. His practice FROM A DISTANCE, YOUR BUILDINGS Arquitectonica is setting OFTEN HAVE A STRONG REPEATING PATTERN THAT EVOKES NATURE. their sights on Sunny Isles CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT FROM THE NATURAL WORLD INSPIRES YOU? to bring the Ritz-Carlton Nature has always been part of our inspiration — it is also part of Miami’s unique to life in a fluid form. intertwining of the environment with the man-made. No city has the have a practice across the United DO YOU INCORPORATE interlocking of land and water. States and around the world, we REFERENCES TO FLORIDA The fluid forms of the ocean and often cross-fertilize. We propose HISTORY INTO YOUR the windblown vegetation that ideas originated in other places PROJECTS? WHAT FLOURISHES, always appear in movement are and we take ideas originated SHAPES, OR PALETTES HAVE part of our vocabulary. in Miami to other places as well. YOU LEANED INTO OVER The world is both one and THE YEARS? WHAT ARE THE MATERIALS diverse. Nobody has a monopoly The colorful palette of the YOU ARE CURRENTLY WORKING on innovation. Caribbean has always had WITH – ARE YOU PARTICULARLY a role in Miami architecture. ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT A KIND WHAT IS ARCHITECTURE'S So has nautical shapes that OF STONE, OR METAL, OR AN RESPONSIBILITY TO ADDRESS remind us of our oceanic culture. INNOVATION IN MATERIALITY? CLIMATE CHANGE, AND We draw from naval architecture We generally prefer the WHAT INNOVATIONS and the colors of our oceans, transparency of glass and endless DO YOU ENVISION? our corals, and our rich flora. patterns of wood and the honest I think the developed world is expression of concrete. Of course, dealing with climate change. TELL US ABOUT THE RITZ concrete is the most plastic of There are great financial CARLTON PROJECT, AND THE construction materials. We use resources and access to new SUNNY ISLES COMMUNITY? stone selectively and we like technologies. Holland dealt HOW HAVE YOU APPROACHED local keystones. We trend with its own issues a long time THAT SKYLINE? towards authenticity. ago and proved all is solvable. We sought a fluid form, as if We need to worry about poor shaped by the erosion from the YOU HAVE OFFICES ALL OVER countries who don't have these water and winds. The shape rises Images Courtesy of Arquitectonica THE WORLD, FROM SAO PAULO resources. Miami is at the from the sand dunes capturing TO PARIS TO HONG KONG. forefront of research of sea level the essence of the place. The WHAT ARE THE COMMONALITIES rise and climate change. The curves carry to the roof creating a OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENTS universities and government terracing effect as if in a yacht or IN WHICH YOU WORK? WHAT are very engaged. Architecture an ocean liner. By the time one is ARE THE DIFFERENCES? and local codes follow new suspended high up in space, one Every place is different, and an thinking regarding resiliency. only senses the ocean and the architect has to recognize this. plasticity of the architecture as if But there are also interesting new sailing beyond it. trends in every place. Because we

107