The Bacardi Building in Miami: Crafting an Identity

2002 ACSA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE HAVANA, CUBA JUNE 21-24, 2002 67

GRAY READ Florida International University

Tho Kac:ardi Ilnporla lleadquarters in Miami. hilt in 19W is :I III~~II~II~light. Irl contrast. 11101iu1nentaltile niurdls 11) Frar~c.iwo cu-tair~-\\dlslat, clad with builclir~~-sizcdHraziliar~ ~~~r~ral..;Krer~nand in a traditio~ialBrazilian trcd~riiqur."nzulrjos." rover visiblr for blocks. The clean. corporate. lines poi~itto Mies van the entire north and south italls to greet traflic in botl~ clcr Rowe, tl~cmurals to a traditional 1,atin i11nt:ric:ari crali. Tl~is dircc-tior15 a- Idlboards.' Sul)lirnc Alit.&r~ sercr~itjis over- uneasy rnarriap trl' hlics and sa~nbaraises eyehrows antl raises \+hcl~l~ctlImt11 ly o\ert s~ructuralexpre4ori arrd 1, liprrative questions. 13ut c:ontradictiorla in t111- irr~ages Ixojected by art. Rather than standing rrlirrt~cl,al~htract arid self-co~itainrrla- Bac:artli. the csiletl Culritr~ rum distiller. were a pnir~ted ,I Jlic.3 l)uildiry n~igl~t.tl~c Bacarcli headquartcr~looli~ out\vard stattv~ent of idrr~tity that projected corporatcs strcwg111 arid to tl~ech. addressing Rliani r\plichlj. political ill in the tumultuo~l~varl!. yars 01' 1"idel (hro's rule. rlhe 7 head of Barardi. Papir~ROSCII. recognized the rhetorival pwrr of arvhitcoture. 'l'l~e Rlia~riiI-ieadquartera was or~lytl~e latest in a series of arrhitertr~ral prqjccts that Bosch had t~rltlcrtaker~to redefine S:~cardi-spultlir identit\*. f lictrr Roscl~ took charge (~l'the company ill 194.4.. Bacardi rum was itlttntiiicd corr~lrlt.tel\-uith Cuba.' In orlr of tlwir. atlvrrtising pters Racartli was called "el rn+r tlv Cul)a.-' 'l'he company'- original Spanish rolonial builtlir~gill Santiago cle (Cuba had a Irar hlowr to ~trurist>ad soldiers fr~r it* l'rzr-\\~l~~~cli~~g atrrroal~lwre.1)uring prohil~itio~iill ~licIl~iitt~l Statt~s. Cuba Id Iwen a favorite spot for IJS tour.is~-s seeking a variety of pleasurt:s illegal at l~ou~e,and was li~~o\\.rra5 a 11avcr1 I;)r smugglers (ru~t~ru~irirrs).Havardi sc~ltl liquor and the (ha Noatra bouglit.' 111 the US. even ahprollil~itio~~ \\as rq~eultd. (I:ul,ar~ rum was $1-nonynous wilh lilwrtine licence. (Fip 1 13acarcIi .Ad)

Gutic:rric?z's 1111iltli11,rr iz a glass ant1 steel slab or1 a plaza 11111 ctray:, fro111 hlieaim~pit!- hot11 in its str11rt111~11sleigl~t of l~and a~rdit3 I)right, I,atirr rnurals. The b~~iltlir~~sstLvtw Iloors are ZIIE~II'II~~~fro111 all open truss at the top t11at cantilevers off of four colurnns. Tl~efloors llarig or1 t:al)lrs so they can move ?lightly in the event of an t:artl~quake.' The ground floor is rt:c:esst~ti ard transparent to reveal tl~isstructural feat. The surhce of tlit. plaza is raised to a ~~edestriarr'soye Iwel so rec.t:ding parallel lines ol' tlit. I~avin,oare not 1-isible ar~rltllc alal~ aplwars to float at an indeterr~iir~atctdistance. This evanescenctb is rc-intbrwd Ily a plane of rt4lecti1.r glal; (Ira( t~orseast onto Riscayrrt~ Boulevard antl Biscape Ray. sl~inir~gcopper in 68 ARCHITECTURE, CULTURE, AND THE CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION

Ilia vhoiv~of architect for a new company Ireatlquarters was telling. A few years I~cforc..tlle SeVaul whiskey colnl~a~~yl~ad asse~ltdtheir rorporate diplitj in a \lies buildi~lgin hlanhat- tari." Rlies' signature \\orb. I~c~~or~daU others. projected all i~rrpeccabieref'i~lentt=rlt that sr~rnedable to eraac all associa- tions: gcopq~hicor Iribtoric. If hlies van drr Rowc'b arrllitec- turv c.oulti hell) Seapn~nto shcd all referer~ceto the evils of ~l~iske!arld to rise a3 a corporation. then perhaps it ro~iltiillso Ii14~)Htlt.ardi. Castru. and (hha to c'r~trr the irlternatior~al ~~~ark~tplare.

Eightctw rrrontt~slater, Castro natiolializt=d Racardi'b propvrty allit opcratior~sirl Cub, reportdly valut.ti at $77 111iUion.I~ 1:osc.h mcl Bacarcii It4 ~llc. c:oi~ntrly taking wit11 tl1e111 tlleir recipe I;>r their rurrl. arid rlcver returnetl. Sacardi Lecat~~c.a cwrrlparly without a country. 2002 ACSA INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE HAVANA, CUBA JUNE 21-24, 2002 69

c11rtai113and travelti~leslal) turr~away 1'1.0111 the 1ocA settiq to dtlrees an audimrr oI' i~~tcwlatior~:llarchitecture c:on~~oi.isc:url ad corporate I~atror~s.lV~~Sliami I~cnvever px-ions \wre I~eateda~d ~III: c:ool Ilautrur of the i~~ternatio~laldylv Ilia!r \lave wr~ncdcoo al~stract. (:utitww i~~tc:q~rc*(td\livbi;m surfa(.es in a 11ovwin~I'or111 s~~ppnrt~dI)! a11 ~xpresiivestrurture. and to furtlier strengtl~clitlw I)~~ildinisi~liprt=ssinn, Ihscll I~OIIIIII~S- siorlcd art Ibr the end wall* nt' ~IIPI~r~iltli~q. Like the placartl r~~ratulatilrgCasrro ir~19.59. Urtwnand's tilc IIIII~~Saddress tllc city. The art work Iio\vcw:r, was not Cub hut 13raziliar1. sl~ecilicallyt'r0111 R~cife. Big mtl 1,rigllt. tlw murals identified Uacardi with a Inrger Latin .Inierira at ~111.~~~orrler~t that the co~npaiy Ict go of' Cuba. The 1l111ra1s rrlo~~u~~~erltalizea traditicl~~alc-ral't thus lifting it ir~to a 111oder11idi0111 a3 "a~ltlic.ntir..'"I'llus modernized and dislhced to Miami. Franctis-

NO'I'ES

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