Miami-based Urban Robot Associates strives to create memorable projects within the realms of landscape, hospitality, residential, and interior design. Led by Giancarlo Pietri, Sebastian Velez, Justine Velez, and JJ Wood, the firm's work showcases a mix of formal playfulness and meticulous, detail-oriented design.
Founded in 2009, Urban Robot Associates has since become one of Miami's powerhouse firms as the team pursues its stated goal of creating "something memorable that's also multidisciplinary in nature, while also referencing the context within which we design."
For this week's Studio Snapshot, Archinect chats with JJ Wood and the rest of the team as they collectively share their experiences of running and growing an integrated, design-oriented architectural practice .
How many people are in your practice?
20
What prompted you to start your own firm? And what’s the backstory of your firm’s name?
Starting our own firm came from a desire to explore our own thoughts on design and to try and integrate architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design as much as possible. The name comes from our wish to create something memorable that’s also multidisciplinary in nature, while also referencing the context within which we design. That, and some late night delirium. We don’t take ourselves too seriously!
Starting our own firm came from a desire to explore our own thoughts on design and to try and integrate architecture, landscape architecture, and interior design as much as possible.
Is scaling up a goal?
No, we’re happy with the size of the firm. Anything bigger seems intimidating, but we said that when we were 10 people, and then when we were 15 people, and probably when we were 19 people.
What are the benefits of running your own practice? What have been your biggest hurdles?
Being your own boss is nice, but it comes with a lot of responsibility. There are people who are trying to build their careers or support their families, and they are all looking for stability and opportunity. We don’t want to lose the family-office feel, and have managed to keep that.
Do you have a favorite project? Completed or in progress.
They’ve all been a favorite at some point or another! One of our strengths is our raw enthusiasm and love for design, whether it’s a landscape, an interior, or a structure.
I noticed that Urban Robot Associates won the Box Challenge at the HD Expo in Las Vegas last year! What was that experience like? Did that competition influence your design approach (especially in your Hospitality projects) after you won?
It was a tough 24 hours with some wonderful and talented competitors! The given challenge was to design for “the immersive environment,” so we explored the integration of landscape in the room, in contrast to a more expected digital immersion. We were able to draw on our hospitality experience to help win the competition, and our entry will be built for HD Expo 2020 in Vegas.
The climate does allow us to explore architecture as a more porous interface between the interior and the exterior.
Much of your firm’s work so far focuses on the Greater Miami area. What do you like most about designing in Miami?
Jokingly - the weather. The climate does allow us to explore architecture as a more porous interface between the interior and the exterior. Exterior spaces in Miami, and all of Southern Florida, can be occupied year-round – as an example: most, if not all, high-rises have exterior balconies, which is a very unique condition to design for and really creates some fascinating typologies.
What do you want your firm to be known for?
Creating unique places that tell a story.
We don’t like to be overly restrictive in visions or strategies, other than to be open-minded about what type of project we work on.
Your firm has been operating for over 10 years now. Where do you see your firm in the next 10?
Hard to say. We don’t like to be overly restrictive in visions or strategies, other than to be open-minded about what type of projects we work on. We’ve had the good fortune of being involved in cruise-ship design, park and street design, new construction, renovations, furniture design, gardens, hotels, and roof-scapes. We aim to continuously have quite a range of work!
What other creative explorations does your practice want to pursue?
We are beginning to design spaces in the public realm – streets and parks, for example. We’d like to continue exploring the design of these spaces.
If you could describe your work/practice in three words, what would they be?
Multidisciplinary, place-making, design.
Katherine is an LA-based writer and editor. She was Archinect's former Editorial Manager and Advertising Manager from 2018 – January 2024. During her time at Archinect, she's conducted and written 100+ interviews and specialty features with architects, designers, academics, and industry ...
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