THE "V"

Location
Miami Beach, Florida
Year
2009
Status
Completed

A three-unit condominium project in South Miami Beach, Florida, maximizing allowable building square footage permitted on the site while maximizing usable outdoor spaces and privacy. Design composition consists of a modest one-story unit located along the street edge (raised 4 ft. above sidewalk due to flood requirements) but in compliance with planning and zoning requirements that demand connectivity to the public realm. Parking is hidden from the street and accessible from an alley at the rear of the property. The other two larger units occupy the upper floors in a vertical, three level composition, intertwined in a way that offers both the duality of openness and privacy in this dense urban context. The design allows both upper units to maximize use of the tight site (50 ft. wide) by organizing them into a front and back organization, creating a more generous arrangement of indoor and outdoor spaces rather than a long, thin alignment of the programs. The roof is also developed and improved for outdoor uses, including a rooftop pool for one of the units, offering the tenants and guests, areas for outdoor parties and events in this great South Florida environment. The architectural composition is one that exploits the idea of minimalism, modernity and restraint as a way of life.