The City OF Miami Beach Housing Authority was charged with developing several in-fill lots scattered throughout the South Beach area of Miami Beach, Florida. The site is an “L” shaped lot, with the principal front facing due west on Michigan Avenue, directly across the street from South Pointe Elementary School. The design makes historical reference to the numerous two, three, and four story hotels that occupied much of this area in the 40’s and 50’s. These structures typically provided covered front porches, where guests could sit and enjoy the tropical breezes and watch life going by.

The building consists of 30 one-bedroom units, each containing a minimum of 550 SF, arranged on three floors above grade due to flood regulations, with the ground floor reserved for the “front porch” facing the school. This porch becomes not only the social gathering space, but contributes to neighborhood security by the mere presence of people on the street.

The project takes its place in the neighborhood with a lively “wrapping” of the façade using colors and patterns.Functionally, the random glass openings in the unit allows for views to the outside from numerous locations within the units while sitting. This articulation of the glass openings, both in location and size, disguises architecturally the repetitiveness of the “stacked” one-bedroom units, making the project a new welcomed participant in this eclectic neighborhood.It is our hope that this project will serve as an example to our “old friends” of a commitment to preserve the dignity and independence that senior adults need and desire… the need to belong, to be needed.