Posts

Kips Bay Decorator Show House Palm Beach

/in /by

We recently toured the third annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House located in a plantation-style estate in West Palm Beach’s South End neighborhood. The house, owned by famed interior designer Lars Bolander, features 19 of the most prominent design firms from around the country, including several from South Florida, who transformed the home’s spaces with their unique and sophisticated styles.
In just under three months, the talented group designed each room of the remarkable 8,751-square-foot home inspired by South African and Dutch architecture. The home features four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a great room with vaulted ceilings and French doors that open up to an expansive loggia, and a spacious kitchen with an adjacent outdoor dining terrace. The home’s large master suite offers sprawling garden and pool views. The estate also boasts two guest houses, a pool house, and an expansive private garden with lush tropical flora for the ultimate outdoor living and entertaining experience.
Design enthusiasts and novices alike will be inspired by the level of creativity and imagination on display through unexpected wall treatments, beautiful furnishings and an array of bold colors.
The Kips Bay Decorator Show House is open now through Sunday, March 1st. The event benefits both Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and Boys and the Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County.
For more information, visit Kips Bay Decorator Show House.

Celebrating a Century of Art Deco

/in /by

Home to more than 800 Art Deco buildings, Miami’s glamorous South Beach is an architectural goldmine of 1930s pastel-colored gems. This year marks 100 years since the Art Deco architectural style was first developed, so as we start off 2020, we’re reflecting on some of our favorite iconic Art Deco style buildings. The famed architectural style has evolved since the 1920s, but continues to inspire designers, artists, and photographers today.
The city of Miami Beach celebrates Art Deco Weekend every year in January. In addition, there are weekly walking tours of the historic district for those interested.
Designed in 1939 by Henry Hohauser, credited as one of the principal architects behind the Deco styling of South Beach, The Webster is a classic example of Art Deco architecture in the area. The former hotel has been transformed into a high-end fashion boutique, but you can still admire the original polished terrazzo floors, gleaming staircases, and pastel-colored decor.

A much-loved icon of South Beach, The Breakwater Hotel was designed in 1936 by Yugoslavian architect Anton Skiskewicz, and sports clean, colorful lines and the archetypal symmetry emblematic of the Art Deco period. The 99-room boutique hotel was extensively renovated in 2011, restoring The Breakwater to its former glory.

Designed by architect RA Benjamin, the Colony Theatre opened its doors in 1935 as a Paramount cinema. Currently, it is one of the most fashionable performing arts venues in South Florida, hosting concerts, comedy acts, dance performances, operas, and film festivals. Showcasing bold lines and geometric patterns with neon lights and a pristine terrazzo floor, the building maintains all the integrity of its original Art Deco features.

The Cadillac Hotel, designed by Roy F. France, was constructed in the 1940s to resemble one of the brand’s premium motors, chrome center trim emblazoned with a glistening hood ornament. It stands proudly as one of the tallest Art Deco buildings on the beach. It is now owned by the Marriott hotel group, and was recently renovated, but it still retains its Art Deco charm, with terrazzo floors and palm-embossed ceiling adorning the lobby.

CASACOR Miami 2019

/in /by


CASACOR, the most complete architecture, interior, and landscaping design exhibition in North America, returned to the Magic City launching during Miami Art Week at Brickell City Centre.
This year’s exhibition features an international mix of 20 established and emerging designers, all inspired by sustainability and Miami’s urban infrastructure. Landscape artists have also curated living spaces to allow guests to truly connect with nature while creating a sense of belonging and calmness in the epicenter of Miami’s famed financial district.
Designs showcased at the indoor-outdoor exhibition include the works of Moniomi Design, Allan Malouf, Pininfarina, Jesus Pacheco Studio, Edge Collections, Alberto Salaberri, and Léo Shehtman, who all returned to the event for the second time displaying new designs. Keeping things fresh, CASACOR Miami has added new top-tier designers to its roster. Among these are Ukraine’s rising design firm YODEZEEN, AD100’s 2017 best interior designers Sig Bergamin, and Michelle Haim from award-winning design firm Fanny Haim & Associates, and Cristiana Mascarenhas.
Local talent such as Mr. Alex Tate Design, Guimar Urbina Interiors, B+G Design, Tamara Feldman Design, IG Workshop, Light on White Design Studio, and Studio RODA in collaboration with Odabashian are also showcasing their work at the event.
The design-centric exhibit is open to the public until December 21st with student tickets starting at $20, and regular admission costing $30.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit casacormiami.com.

Miami Art Week 2019 Guide

/in /by

Design-lovers everywhere are in Miami for this year’s art week! Read about some of the latest must-see exhibitions and events:
CASACOR Miami — the architecture, interior and landscaping design exhibition in North America — returns for its third year at Miami’s $1.05 billion landmark, Brickell City Centre. In partnership with swire properties, presented by cosentino and with the global sponsorship of deca, the interior design exhibition will feature an international mix of 20 established and emerging interior designers, inspired by sustainability and the urban infrastructure of the city. Visitors will move from micro-environments to vignettes within a 25,000 square foot residential sales gallery. Visionaries, such as moniomi design, Allan Malouf, Pininfarina, Jesus Pacheco studio, edge collections, Alberto Salaberri, and Léo Shehtman return to CASACOR Miami. This year, the three-week exhibition continues to add new top-tier designers to its impressive roster, such as Ukraine’s rising design firm Yodezeen, and Sig Bergamin and Michelle Haim from design firm Fanny Haim & Associates. Open December 2 – 21, at 700 Brickell avenue.

Billionaire philanthropist, entrepreneur and contemporary art collector Jorge M. Pérez will unveil his highly anticipated experimental arts center, El Espacio 23, on December 2. Located in Miami’s emerging Allapattah neighborhood, El Espacio 23 will serve artists, curators, and the general public, with regular exhibitions, residencies and a variety of special projects. The space will house the Jorge M. Pérez collection, which is regarded as one of the world’s most extensive private holdings of contemporary art. El Espacio 23’s opening show, ‘time for change: art and social unrest in the Jorge M. Pérez collection’ features close to 100 works by over 80 global artists, and explores questions of identity, public unrest and marginalized peoples. Inaugural exhibition, open December 4, at 2270 NW 23rd street.

Commissioned by the city of Miami Beach, the monumental public installation by Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich ‘Order of Importance’ will be on view at Lincoln Road beachfront through December 15. It will be the largest public work by the artist to date. Open December 3 – 15, at Lincoln Road beachfront.

To inaugurate the opening of the newly-designed Raleigh Gardens, Michael Shvo and his partners today present an outdoor public exhibition of the work of the late Claude Lalanne (1924-2019) and François-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008) — the artistic duo known together as les Lalanne. The exhibition will be on public display in a new, immersive, lush, beach-side tropical garden designed by architect Peter Marino, and Miami landscape architect Raymond Jungles. Open November 22, 2019 through February 29, 2020, from 12pm to 8pm, at 1775 Collins Avenue.

Wynwood Walls, the famed epicenter of the Wynwood arts district known worldwide for its groundbreaking, ever-changing collection of curated art, will celebrate its 10-year anniversary this year. Goldman properties CEO Jessica Goldman Srebnick has selected a roster of global artists, both up-and-coming and established, to create new murals at the Wynwood Walls in time for the international art community to descend on Miami. This year’s artist line-up will feature Tats Crew, Hush, Mina Hamada, Kelsey Montague, Michael Vasquez, Dan Kitchener, Faile, Futura, Kenny Scarf, Ernesto Marange, Martha Cooper, Dasic Fernandez. At Wynwood Walls, 2520 NW 2nd Avenue.

For more events and information, visit designboom.

BBA’s Claudia Busch in Miami Herald’s CEO Roundtable

/in /by

We are proud to announce that Claudia Busch, Founding Principal of Berenblum Busch Architects, has been selected from among South Florida’s top business leaders to be in the latest panel of Miami Herald’s CEO Roundtable. The industries these panelists represent include technology, real estate and architecture, insurance, law, the arts, banking, nonprofits and small business.
Claudia Busch is founding principal of Berenblum Busch Architects in Miami, an architecture, planning and interior design firm. Busch, who has more than 25 years of experience in the field, has designed for major architects such as Zaha Hadid, Richard Meier, Nalbach Architekten, and Bernard Tschumi. She is also a senior instructor at Florida International University’s School of Architecture. Busch, who was raised in Germany, was trained in Hamburg and also has a master’s degree from Columbia University.
For the next six months, she will give her views on the most important civic and economic issues of the day and will also share personal stories of her successes and setbacks and tips on how to succeed in the business world.
For more information, visit Miami Herald.

Al-Farooq Corporation’s Work on Hard Rock Hollywood Highlighted in USGlass Magazine

/in /by

Our client, Al-Farooq Corporation played a vital role in designing and engineering different portions of the newly renovated Hard Rock Hollywood.
Inside the new guitar-shaped hotel, the engineers designed a 24-foot tall architectural glass waterfall that is part of “The Oculus” located in the lobby combining elements of water, fire and technology all choreographed to music.
The glass product manufacturer, Faour Glass Technologies, trusted Al-Farooq to assist them on this project because they are well-known for being experts in non-typical glass engineering.
Al-Farooq senior project manager, Hammad Muzaffar says the design was complex and required unique engineering analysis because it’s a long, curved system of glass with the dynamic loads from water added to it. The complete glass structure has a radius of 40 feet and is supported by a mullion-less system at the head and sill.
Faour’s Slimpact XL and pivot door systems were used for the hotel entrance and adjacent storefront. Al-Farooq worked with Faour Glass to engineer this portion of the project as well. The Slimpact product was used for approximately 2,200 total square feet of the project.
Muzaffar says his company had to create additional plate designs and connection detailing to get the system to work according to Florida codes, which have strict hurricane ratings.
For more information, visit US Glass News Network.

BBA’s Claudia Busch Guides FIU Architecture Students in Designing a Mobile Art Pavilion

/in /by


Next summer, a futuristic Mobile Art Pavilion designed by Florida International University students, will bring a new way to showcase pop-up art exhibits and plays to our South Florida community.
Berenblum Busch Architects’ Founding Principal and Senior Instructor at FIU’s Department of Architecture Claudia Busch led seven student teams to build on ideas for this multi-use, mobile art pavilion. Of the seven designs proposed by 15 students, the plan of a 315-square-foot, dome-like structure was selected.
The FIU School of Architecture team proposed a waterproof pavilion that “will have three layers with the outer one made from a rigid metal frame to hold the fabric that encloses the pavilion. Display walls are designed to rotate to vary the enclosure and accommodate for art display and performance.”
The structure will use renewable energy resources and sustainable materials, and the fabric envelope features solar coating “to help reflect and diffuse direct solar radiation, optimizing temperature comfort inside.”
The project is part of a partnership between FIU and Grace Arts Florida. Senior Instructor Claudia Busch led the student teams from her Graduate Architecture Studio 9.
For more information, visit Miami Herald.

Choeff Levy Fischman Selected as Top Coastal Architects 2019 for 4th Year in a Row

/in /by

We’re excited to announce that one of our clients, award-winning architects Choeff Levy Fischman, have been selected as one of Ocean Home Magazine’s Top 50 Coastal Architects. The 2019 list marks the fourth consecutive year the firm has been included among other top coastal architects from around the country. Well-known for their Tropical Modern designs throughout South Florida, this year the firm is working on oceanfront residences in Turks & Caicos and Panama City.
As stated in Ocean Home, “every ocean home is special, and so are our Top 50 Coastal Architects.” The annual list compiles 50 who judges believe possess the unique skills, experience, and sensibilities required to design and build magnificent custom homes close to one of the most beautiful (and unforgiving) forces of nature on Earth—the ocean.
Leading Tropical Modern architects Choeff Levy Fischman have continuously created stunning modern and contemporary homes throughout Miami, Miami Beach, Bal Harbour, Golden Beach, and Fort Lauderdale.
One of the firm’s most recently completed projects is located on Palm Island in Miami Beach. This new opulent residence leaves you in awe the moment you step onto its lavish motor court. The two-story home, designed in the architect’s famed Tropical Modern architectural style, provides large living spaces in an open-concept format. It includes floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors that open up to the rear deck, blending the indoors with the outdoors. A focal point of the home’s interior is a stunning 460 square foot open-air atrium with floating steps that take you across a shallow pool of water. Additional soul-soothing reflecting ponds and cascading water features are spread throughout the property on all four sides of the residence to emphasize its waterfront location.
To view the full list of top coastal architects, visit OceanHome.

ICA Miami & Stantec Presented Climate Change, Art, and Architecture Panel Discussion

/in /by


On Thursday, October 10th, ICA Miami in collaboration with Stantec hosted a discussion panel on Climate Change, Art, and Architecture. The event took place at the Miami Design District Palm Court.
Continuing ICA Miami’s dedication to understanding urgent environmental issues, this panel explored how anthropogenic effects apply pressure to architectural design and cultural production. It was led by renowned architectural critic Beth Dunlop. Panelists included John Malueg, manager of Stantec’s resiliency program; David Rifkind, interim chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture + Environmental and Urban Design at Florida International University; Elizabeth Wheaton, City of Miami Beach’s Director of the Environment & Sustainability Department; and Xavier Cortada, environmental artists and Professor of Practice at the University of Miami.  The panel also explored the concept of resiliency and the role of architects and artists in mitigating cultural, social, and environmental degradation.

Berenblum Busch Architects Designs Major Expansion of Carnival’s Terminal F at PortMiami

/in /by

Carnival Cruise Line received approval for a major expansion and renovation of Terminal F at PortMiami designed by Berenblum Busch Architects. The expansion will accommodate the cruise line’s excel class ship for arrival in 2022. When completed, Terminal F will be the third cruise terminal at PortMiami dedicated to Carnival operations and the cruise line’s largest in North America.

BBA’s simple and open design will allow for exceptional efficiency and flexibility to accommodate Carnival’s largest class of ships, maximizing use of facial recognition technology and other elements to move guests through the embarkation process.

Carnival Cruise Line is the largest cruise operator in Miami with more year-round ships sailing from PortMiami than any other cruise line. The redesigned Terminal F will allow Carnival to continue to be the leader in the market and will enable the line to bring its next LNG ship to South Florida. 

Read more on Carnivalcorp.