500 Brickell
A luxury high-rise condominium development with two attached 42-story towers containing a total of 633 residential units on 40 levels, approximately 20,500 SF of retail on two levels and a ten-level, 1,100-space parking structure. The twin towers are separated by a 90′ wide void creating and framing views of the city between them.
Crowning that void is an illuminated 75′ diameter oculus made of lightweight cladding and supported by innovative space framing technology. Linking the towers from below is a ten story garage podium whose kaleidoscopic-colored circles contrast the building’s monochromatic forms. Those same forms are in turn prominently organized by a super grid whose rectilinear compositions lend a crisp precision to the design. The building does not attempt to be an object. Instead it creates space.
The void is more important than the mass. The sheer scale of the architectural gestures is unparalleled in the city. No other building has created an outdoor room over 30 stories tall. It is one of the biggest breezeways in the world. A circular pool sits inside the amenities deck matching the shape of the oculus above and allowing one to float on the water and look up through the circular opening to the skies beyond. The garage was a design challenge due to its size and visibility from both sides. We chose to turn it into a monumental Pop Art mural. The north and south elevations each have 350 circles to provide natural ventilation for the garage interior. Inscribed within each circle is a uniquely painted metal grating that provides visual obstruction from the exterior, and creates a vibrant contrast to the building’s white stucco aspect. The hundreds of circular holes act like pixels. The screening mesh produces streaks of color a block long.
* Real Estate & Construction Review - Florida Edition | Building of America Award
