OMA's three-piece project for Miami's new, billion-dollar arts neighborhood, Faena District Miami Beach, had its coming out party this past Monday, christening the start of the city's Art Basel. OMA's work consists of the Faena Forum, Faena Park, and Faena Bazaar (the last one doesn't open until March of next year), located right by the beach, and linked by a series of public spaces.
The Forum is a 42,565 square-feet arts venue, accommodating a flexible set of art and performance styles. The two main levels of the building are allowed vast stretches of column-free space, supported by a "structural facade of 350 distinct windows". The top floor is capped by a 40-foot-high dome, with a spiraling balcony arising from the street affording plentiful views of the city.
Faena Park, which OMA's press release refers to as "a state-of-the-art parking structure," doesn't hold a lot of cars (capacity for 81, stacking two per space) but its 28,000 square-feet prioritizes retail space instead. The concrete wrapping to the structure not only echoes the Forum's look, but also is in good company with Miami's other first-class parking garages.
Faena Bazaar, a retail and event space, began its life as the historic 1939 Atlantic Beach Hotel, designed by Roy France. OMA's work preserves the buildings's original facade and adds a central courtyard (see below).
In a statement issued from OMA, Shohei Shigematsu, lead designer for the Faena project, called it the "focal point" of the surrounding neighborhood. Citing the Forum's circular plan as a way to increase pedestrian activity nearby, he referenced how the project would convey "a new typology for interaction, leveraging the ambiguous advantage of Faena’s redefinition of culture."
It also looks like Rem encountered "a new typology for interaction" (there's a caption contest for that):
Check out more beautiful shots from Iwan Baan, Bruce Damonte and Philipppe Ruault in the gallery below.
1 Comment
This is likely the only known photo of Rem Koolhaas smiling. Almost creepy, isn't it?
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