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BBA and Saladino Design Studios, AIA Miami 2019 Design Awards Winners

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The AIA Miami 2019 Design Awards took place at the Historic Hampton House on Friday, October 4th. Two of our clients, Berenblum Busch Architects and Saladino Design Studios, were awarded for their work.
Berenblum Busch Architects won the Architecture Greater Than 50,000 square feet award for their design of the Tenerife Cruise Terminal in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain. BBA adaptively reused two large existing steel warehouses located on-site and strategically added new buildings by using Cross Laminated Timber Technology. Approximately 17,000 square feet of certified wood was used, making it the largest wood building erected to date in Spain. The building achieved the maximum European Union Energy Label. The state-of-the-art terminal was designed to receive mega vessels transporting up to 5,000 passengers and serving as home-port or port-of-call.
Saladino Design Studios won a Divine Detail award for their design of SuViche Doral. The 3,800 square-foot SuViche restaurant in Miami’s popular CityPlace Doral. The design of the award-winning Peruvian-influenced Japanese restaurant concept was inspired by the vibrant colors of traditional Peruvian materials and fabrics blended with Miami’s tropical environment. The whimsical interiors boast vibrant Peruvian colors, playful swinging chairs, macramé rope art mural, Pisco bar and “Let’s Get Saucy” floral and moss graffiti wall.

MCAD’s BAM Program Helps Mom Start A New Career

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A program of Miami Center for Architecture and Design, Black Architects in the Making was launched by M.C. Harry & Associates to increase African American representation in architecture.

An architectural project manager at M.C. Harry & Associates, Naomi Harrison has already increased their representation through her mentorship of Bernise Muhammad, a BAM mom who went from being on the sidelines to now pursuing a career in architecture at Florida International University.

CBS 4 visited a recent BAM workshop where they learned more about Naomi and Bernise’s relationship and the work BAM is doing in the community.

A Miami woman is on a new career path in architecture thanks to a program designed for students.

Naomi Harrison is an architectural project manager at M C Harry & Associates, which created Black Architects in the Making, also known as BAM.

BAM was created to introduce and educate middle and high school students, primarily African American, to the world of architecture.

Harrison has been involved with BAM for several years, helping expose youngsters to architecture but also working to diversify the industry.

“One of the underrepresented in the industry is also females. 18-percent of architects are females but only .04-percent of the architects in the state identify as black female Americans,” explained Harrison.

Harrison along with other associates go into communities where African Americans live, work, and play and talk to them about architecture.

It was at one of the workshops where she met Bernise Muhammad, the parent of one of the students. For more information, visit CBS4

Local Architects Aim to Bring Diversity to the Industry

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blog-10-15-2Over the years, the U.S. has produced few African American architects. Noticing the lack of diversity, architect and co-owner of MC Harry & Associates, Craig Aquart, launched Black Architects in the Making to introduce African American youth to the field.

CBS 4 News visited Aquart’s firm to learn more about BAM and meet the students.

Craig Aquart is a veteran architect and co-owner of M C Harry & Associates headquartered in Miami.

Even though he has dozens of projects in development, he is on a mission to spread what he calls the gospel of Architecture.

CBS4 recently visited Aquart while he and his staff hosted a group of students from the community to expose them to various career opportunities in the field.

“I did some research and found out that of the 113-thousand registered architects in the United States, less than two-thousand architects were actually black and the statistics were even worse when you look at black females. There were only 430 in the field. I realized there was a disparity there and one of the reasons for that is the awareness in the black community is severely lacking,” said Aquart.

In response, Aquart created BAM, which stands for Black Architects in the Making with the support of the Miami Center for Architecture & Design (MCAD).

For the last two years he and his staff have hosted workshops for students in Overtown, Liberty City and Richmond Heights just to name a few.

“We encourage students to sketch regularly, and like everything else practice makes perfect,” said Aquart. He advises students to at least sketch one image per day.

Aquart says BAM has reached more than 300 students in two years.

To read more, visit CBS4 here.

 

Hospitality Leaders Discuss Industry Trends at Miami Hospitality Designs Awards Panel

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dsc_4812-copyTop leaders in South Florida’s hospitality industry gathered yesterday for the Miami Hospitality Design Awards’ inaugural panel discussion, Distinctive Hospitality Design in Miami’s Evolving Neighborhoods.

 Hosted by the award’s founders Oberhausen Marketing & Public Relations, the Greater Miami & The Beaches Hotel Association and AIA Miami Chapter and in support of IIDA South Florida, the panel took place at the Hyatt Centric Brickell.  The panelists included Stantec Director of Interiors, Susan LaFleur; The Barlington Group Co-founder, Bill Fuller; and The Genuine Hospitality Group Chef and Owner, Michael Schwartz.

Moderated by Indulge Magazine Editor in Chief, Evan Benn, the panelists discussed how consumer demands are affecting hospitality architecture, design and programming.

 Downtown Miami, Brickell, Wynwood, Little Havana, and Coconut Grove are some of these evolving neighborhoods that have emerged with their own distinctive identity.

“We take into account what speaks to us about the neighborhood and translate it into the architecture and interiors to make each project relatable to its location,” said Susan LaFleur.

“Although the food has to be great, I’ve always said it’s not the one thing that makes a restaurant successful,” said Michael Schwartz. “We want our restaurants to fit with the neighborhood, so we look at where we are, what we’re trying to accomplish and how that plays into the design.”

“Little Havana is a passion project for me because of my Cuban American background,” said Bill Fuller. “We seek out historic properties in Miami to give them a new life, but always wrap the property’s history into what we do to keep the building’s and neighborhood’s authenticity.”

The panel is part of the awards’ program leading up to the second annual Miami Hospitality Design Awards to be held in spring 2019. The awards will honor the architects and designers whose hospitality projects have enriched Miami’s built environment. Next year’s awards will include new categories, giving additional designers an opportunity to showcase their work.

Stay tuned for details on the 2019 Miami Hospitality Design Awards by visiting http://miamidesignawards.com.

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