Miami is arguably the best place to look at how changes in trends can have a big impact on the architectural landscape of a city. It has ridden these waves for almost 100 years, constantly evolving through several periods of boom and bust. This has created a city with a very unique feel.
Designing in line with current architectural trends began in the 1920s and 1930s. During this period Mediterranean Revival was at the height of its popularity. This gave the city a Hispanic feel, showcasing its cultural influences in the aesthetics.
The Art Deco period followed, creating a multitude of stunning buildings. Many of these still stand to this day, including several examples of commercial architecture and apartment blocks. This was the first step that the city took towards modernisation and it hasn’t looked back since.
In the 1950s the MiMo (Miami Modern) movement occurred. This saw the city developing its own unique style. It took the Art Deco ideas and added futuristic touches to them, creating something very special. The combination of mirror glass and pastel colours showed that Miami’s culture was coming into its own.
Miami struggled a great deal following the financial crash in 2008. This put even some of the most renowned properties in the city at risk. Moving on from this bust period required a huge amount of work and saw a different tactic employed.
Perhaps unsurprisingly it was the intervention of renowned architects that triggered the latest wave of development. The project that kicked all of this off was a parking garage created in 2011 by Herzog & De Meuron. They showcased everything about the city in one single piece of commercial architecture.
Surprisingly the beautiful architecture in Miami has resulted in a wave of architectural tourists visiting the city. It is now firmly established as a destination that shouldn’t be missed by anybody interested in design. It is also renowned for the fact that Latin-American and Anglo cultures come together to create great designs.
It will be interesting to see how Miami progresses in the future, particularly when its skyline has become globalised. The positive though is it will provide inspiration for everybody, particularly in terms of commercial architecture.