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Architects: Herzog & de Meuron
- Area: 10064 m²
- Year: 2018
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Photographs:DBOX, Robin Hill
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Manufacturers: Sto, Capform, Continental Glass, Creative Terrazzo, NR Windows, USA Plastering
Text description provided by the architects. Jade Signature is a tower on the beach. Like the great Miami hotels we have come to admire, it is a building rooted directly in the landscape and the city around it. Interior and exterior are seamlessly bound together. The street connects to the lobby, the lobby overlooks the pool, and the pool is on the beach. Jade stands in contrast to the wall of parking plinths that usually form a barrier between the city and the beach. The relationship with nature, the environment, and the surroundings are at the core of this project.
The overall form is quiet. Its volume is oriented to maximize the sun exposure on the beach. The resulting plan is a parallelogram that allows the western sun to have an extended presence on the beachside landscape. The tower lands in a garden with a pool directly on the beach. The shared program, the lobby, a restaurant and spa among them, are placed in a curved ribbon weaving through the structure. The ribbon moves from inside to out forming an exterior car drop-off on the West and beachfront pavilion on the East. The sinuous forms of the lower three floors connect the tower to the geometries of the landscape surrounding the tower.
In this tower, the details provide architectural identity. The exterior of Jade expresses the inner organization of the residential units. Slabs articulate the individual floors and windows are recessed to reduce their visual impact. Walls spanning from East to West provide living spaces with simultaneous views of both horizons. These walls are shaped to respond to their particular position between apartments, bedrooms or within deep terraces. Their curved geometries are a result of their role. They either connect or separate areas within and between flats. Seen together, the walls and slabs express the variety of unit types in the building, create a fine texture and give depth to the facade.
Miami’s climate and lifestyle call for a specific approach that maximizes each individual apartment’s relationship to the outdoors. The tower’s slabs extend each unit’s livable area to include expansive terraces – in total 30% of the inside floor area. True through units provide optimal natural ventilation during the winter months when humidity is at a minimum. Overhanging slabs reach out to provide adequate shade from the harsh tropical sun. Heat gain on the facade is minimized and cooling loads are reduced. Through these simple but impactful responses, the project defines a specific typology for Miami.
