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MCAD’s BAM Sparks Interest in Architecture in African-American Students

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Of the 105,000 registered architects in the U.S., less than two percent are African Americans. In an effort to increase their representation in the industry, architect Craig Aquart of M.C. Harry and Associates created Black Architects in the Making.

BAM is a hands-on educational workshop focused on educating students, primarily African-American, on the architectural profession, and is supported by the Miami Center for Architecture and Design and the American Institute of Architects Miami chapter.

The definition of an architect is “a person who designs buildings and advises in their construction.”

So, it makes sense that the American Institute of Architects Miami Chapter would help build a program that focuses on educating middle and high school students, primarily African American, on the architecture profession.

The U.S. has produced very few African-American architects. According to the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, of the 109,748 registered architects in a 2016 survey, only 2 percent are African Americans.

In an effort to increase that representation, Miami architect Craig Aquart of M C Harry & Associates created Black Architects in the Making to join the already established Architects in the Making program. The American Institute of Architects Miami Chapter supports both.

“BAM is a seed planting program that we must continue in more communities to diversify the architectural profession,” Aquart said in an email. “Students who knew little or nothing about architecture and the role it plays in their communities, now understand that their involvement in building better communities is essential to their well-being.”

Since its inception in 2015, Black Architects in the Making has designed more than 21 workshops led by African-American professionals. The efforts have reached over 300 students in Overtown, Liberty City, Richmond Heights and Homestead.

To read the full story, visit the Miami Herald.

Miami Center for Architecture & Design Moves into New Space

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The Miami Center of Architecture & Design recently celebrated the grand opening of its new space. Located at 310 SE 1st St., it is in the heart of Downtown Miami, bringing visibility to the organization, and the design and build of the environment.
With community meeting space and educational programs, MCAD is the place for anyone who is interested in enhancing their appreciation for the city’s vibrant and unique architecture and design. MCAD is home to AIA Miami as well as the Downtown Miami Welcome Center, in partnership with the Miami Downtown Development Authority. The Welcome Center is everything Miami – cultural events, attractions, maps, history and more.  MCAD educates the public through exhibitions, lectures, tours, film series and other programs that aim to reveal the richness of design in Miami.
To stay up to date with MCAD’s events. Visit https://miamicad.org/.

Wesley Kean, Principal & Founder of Award-Winning Architecture and Design Firm, KoDA

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© Azeez Bakare Studios

© Azeez Bakare Studios


Architect Wesley Kean, Principal & Founder of Miami Beach-based architecture and design firm KoDA, is designing with ambition for its clients and optimism for the world. He is an expert in connecting architecture with nature and finding radical solutions to sea-level rise and other environmental concerns conducive to South Florida and other coastal communities.
Wesley and his team specialize in offering creative solutions and design services for all scales and types of architecture including retail, residential and large urban projects.
The award-winning firm uses analysis and research to develop the design of highly distinctive buildings, landscapes, interiors and experiences. Wesley is a leader in Metabolism, a post-war Japanese architectural movement that fused ideas about architectural mega structures with those of organic biological growth. His view on “How Metabolist Ideas Can Potentially Solve Sea-Level Rise Vulnerability” has been published in AIA’s Florida/Caribbean Architect magazine.
An active member of the AIA and NCARB and a visiting critic at the University of Miami, Florida International University and Miami-Dade College, the New Hampshire native is also a champion of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and a member of the Miami Music Project soundboard. For the upcoming Miami Art Week, Wesley will be showcasing his artistic talents. As part of a creative campaign for the Miami Music Project, KoDA’s “Miami Music Box” exhibit will be on display at RAW POP UP art show that’s taking place at the historic Burdines flagship building in downtown Miami.
Head to KoDA’s website or follow them on social media @kodamiami.

Construction at SoLē Mia Picks Up

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Construction is rapidly picking up at SoLē Mia – a community that will rise at 15045 Biscayne Boulevard. As the largest project in North Miami’s history, SoLē Mia is set to become South Florida’s next iconic neighborhood blending the serenity of open spaces with the vibrancy of an urban center.

Construction on the site went vertical at the end of 2017 with SoLē Mia’s first two residential towers and the Warren Henry Automobile Dealership consisting of Land Rover, Jaguar and Infiniti. The site’s Costco is quickly moving along and will be a tenant of The Shops at SoLē Mia. The development will reshape the North Miami landscape and transform the area into an exciting destination for guests and residents. When completed, SoLē Mia Miami will feature 4,390 residences, approximately 500,000 square feet of lifestyle shopping, emerald green community parks, chef-driven restaurants, entertainment venues and office spaces.

With construction on the SoLē Mia site pushing forward, SoLē Mia’s Local Preference Office is offering City of North Miami residents short- and long-term job opportunities in various construction trades.

Stantec Breaks Ground on Atelier in the Dallas Arts District

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Global architecture and design firm Stantec has broken ground on Atelier, the 41-story residential building located in the heart of the Dallas Arts District. Atelier, which means “artist workshop”, is designed to support the District’s local artists and residents with an appreciation for the arts and urban living.

The mixed-use high-rise will feature 364 luxury residential units and 52 mixed-income artist’s lofts that include 43 affordable artist residences. The project also includes an amenity deck with a pool, 15,000 square-feet of retail and gallery and exhibit space.

“Atelier is being built on the idea of patronage. The building’s modern design will integrate with its neighboring performing and visual arts venues, while also supporting local artists, residents and community members who share a common need to create beauty,” said Andrew Burnett, principal at Stantec’s Miami office, which is leading the architecture and interior design of Atelier.

After years of waiting, developers are set to break ground today on Atelier, which in its most recent incarnation is a 41-story luxury high‐rise in the Dallas Arts District.

The mixed‐use development, which is marketing itself as the tallest rental tower in the Dallas area, will be comprised of 364 residential tower units with sweeping views of Uptown and downtown Dallas.

The project between the Nasher Sculpture Center and the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center will have over 26,000 square feet of amenity space and 15,000 square feet of onsite retail.

Atelier is also planned to be home to Flora Lofts, 52 affordable artist lofts developed by DFW architect Graham Greene.

In addition, there will be 157 hourly‐fee public parking spaces in the underground structure and 553 resident spaces in a 10‐story parking garage.

Orlando-based multifamily developer Zom Living is developing Atelier in partnership with affiliates of Daiwa House Texas Inc. and Itochu Corp.

To read more, visit The Dallas Business Journal.

Jalal Farooq on Preparing for 2018 Hurricane Season

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Twice a year, the Miami Herald enlists new members for its CEO Roundtable. Jalal Farooq, principal and leader of Al-Farooq Corporation’s team of engineers, was chosen among select executives at small, large and nonprofit businesses. Farooq earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Florida International University and graduated from Stanford University with a master’s degree in structural engineering and geomechanics. Each week, Miami Herald asks its CEO Roundtable a question about a topic of interest to South Floridians.

As South Florida gets ready for what’s expected to be another active hurricane season, Jalal Farooq tells the Miami Herald how he’s preparing his business and what South Florida should be aware of on Miami Herald’s CEO Roundtable.

“As a business, the most important thing to make sure is that our data is secure, and we’ve done that,” says Jalal Farooq, principal and senior project engineer at Al-Farooq Corporation. “We specialize in engineering for impact-resistant windows, doors and building envelopes, and I would remind everyone that South Florida has the toughest hurricane codes in the country. With that in mind, if I were in an older building, I would have it checked out by a structural engineer.”

Al-Farooq Corporation has completed more than 15,000 projects around the country and is considered #1 in product approvals in South Florida. In business for more than 35 years, the Miami-based engineering firm is responsible for more than 50% of all Notice of Acceptance (NOA’s) in South Florida.

To read more, visit Miami Herald.

How Living Green Walls Improve a Space

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Living green walls, vertical gardens and biophilic designs offer all the benefits of nature inside a space that not only functions as living art but also improves our well-being.

Architecture and design firm Stantec recently completed the interior design of Wix’s new office and technical center located in Miami Beach. The 24,000 square foot office features a living wall made of green moss that displays the Wix logo while enhancing workers’ lives through a connection with nature. The indoor green wall increases the oxygen level throughout the office, reduces stress and enhances creativity and clarity of thought.

A tropical modern home, designed by Choeff Levy Fischman Architecture + Design, blurs the line between interior and exterior. The house, located on Allison Island, opens out onto an atrium with two 24-foot living walls. The living walls not only bring life to the modern architecture, but they also improve the house’s thermal insulation by adding a protective layer of plants.

Patrick Blanc, a French botanist and scientist, created the living wall at Juvia restaurant in South Beach, as well as the gardens at the Pérez Art Museum. Juvia’s wall not only regulates the rate of humidity outdoors, but it also cools the air. As the human footprint expands, these qualities are important. Unlike a green wall, which faces in one direction, Blanc used different types of plants on the hanging columns to create the vertical garden at Pérez Art Museum. The vertical garden restores the habitats of countless species while providing a space-efficient way of incorporating greenery into a building’s exterior design.

17 West Mixed-Use Development in Miami Beach Tops Off

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Architecture and design firm Stantec, Grycon, Turnberry Associates and Elion Partners celebrated the topping off of the five-story 17 West mixed-use development, which includes residences and Miami’s second Trader Joe’s grocery store. Located on 17th Street between Alton Road and West Avenue in Miami Beach, the 185,388 square foot project will include 23 residential units, a rooftop pool deck with a gym, ground level commercial space and a public garage with 193 parking spaces. The residential units range from one bedroom to three bedrooms. The project is scheduled for completion in January 2019.

OBR Highlights Architects Throughout the Month of 'Archtober'

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Today marks the first day of Architecture Month, also knows as ‘Archtober’ – a month-long celebration of architecture and design.
Once popularly known for its influential Art Deco movement, Miami has reinvented itself, while preserving characteristics from its past, to become a world-class architectural destination. Today, it’s not uncommon to hear of world-renowned architects selecting Miami as the location for their next project.
We have a deep appreciation for the architects in Miami that embody its unique styles and have put our city on the map. So, throughout the month of October we will be spotlighting our architecture clients and how they’ve impacted our local built environment.
Award-winning architecture firm, Choeff Levy Fischman, is well-known for its Tropical Modern home designs that have transformed Miami Beach’s most luxurious neighborhoods, including the Venetian Islands and North Bay Road. Architecture and design firm Stantec is responsible for some of Miami’s best residential and hospitality venues, which are all designed with the community in mind. An architect by trade, Robert Ayona is the co-founder of Bloommiami, a design and production firm specializing in the creation of retail pop-ups for luxury brands. Kean Office for Design + Architecture is a knowledge – and creativity – based practice with a focus and dedication to architecture and design, leading to highly distinctive environments, buildings, interiors and experiences.
Be sure to follow us on Instagram @obrmarketing to learn more about each client and their work.

OBR’s Favorite Miami Buildings

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Though Miami is known for its pastel-colored hotels on South Beach, its architecture is defined by a number of contrasting styles. Architects and developers have been transforming Miami’s cityscape into one of the new architectural capitals of America. From a contemporary luxury high-rise to a historical Spanish hotel, we’ve curated a list of our top 5 most iconic buildings.

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The Biltmore Hotel

The Biltmore Hotel was built in 1926 by hotel magnate John McEntee Bowman and land developer George Merrick, who combined his deep affection for lush South Florida landscape with a high regard for Italian, Moorish and Spanish architectural influences to create this architectural gem. The Biltmore Hotel was initially the tallest building in Florida at 315 feet and, today, its 23,000 square-foot pool is one of the largest hotel pools in the continental United States. The Biltmore’s rich history makes it Coral Gables’ most preeminent historic landmark.

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1111 Lincoln

The iconic garage on the west end of Lincoln Road was designed by world-renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron. The open-air structure rises seven stories and includes office space, retail, parking spaces and a mysterious rooftop penthouse. The seventh floor of the garage is also where 1111 Vibe hosts Skywave Yoga on Monday evenings. The view from the top overlooks Lincoln Road, Alton Road and as far as the shores of Biscayne Bay.

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Solitair Brickell

Solitair Brickell, the latest luxury high-rise gracing Miami’s skyline, was recently completed by global architecture and design firm Stantec. The design of the 50-story building distinguishes itself with a unique angular, towering basket-weave design inspired by the majestic Medjool date palm tree popular in South Florida’s tropical landscape. Developed by ZOM Living, Solitair Brickell includes 483 residential units, millennial-friendly amenities and one of the highest rooftop resort-style pools in Miami.

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New World Center

The New World Center is a concert hall in the heart of South Beach, home to the New World Symphony, a post-graduate orchestral academy. A collaboration between the symphony’s artistic director, 11-time Grammy award-winning conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry, the building features multiple flexible spaces, cutting-edge media equipment, six stories of natural light and views of the iconic Miami Beach Art Deco skyline. A new 2.5-acre public park designed by the firm West 8, features the New World Center’s SoundScape park where New World Symphony WALLCAST concerts are presented on the building’s 7,000-square-foot projection wall.

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One Thousand Museum

One Thousand Museum is a high-rise residential condominium under construction in Downtown Miami designed by the late Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid. When completed, the 62-story building is expected to rise over 700 feet, making it one of the tallest buildings in Miami. The design of the building distinguishes itself with the contrast between the robust exoskeleton and the crystalline glazing of the glass façade beneath it. Gregg Covin, Todd Michael Glaser, Louis Birdman, Kevin Venger, Gilberto Bomeny and Regalia Group are the developers.