Miami is often overlooked in lists of the world’s top design destinations, but this Floridian city, with its heady fusion of North American and Latino cultures, has design in its DNA.
OK, New York and Chicago may have more instantly recognisable buildings, but Miami’s very own historic architectural style, Miami Deco, is truly iconic, and there are plenty of impressive modern buildings, too, including Herzog and de Meuron’s Pérez Art Museum, due to open in December, and a Zaha Hadid-designed car park also under construction.
As well as having its own Design District (pictured below right), downtown Miami is also one of the two locations of the annual Design Miami show which takes place in December (with a partner show in Basel in June) and features contemporary and 20th-century design from some of the world’s most prestigious design galleries.
Design-conscious visitors to Miami are spoilt for choice when it comes to hotels, but my advice is to skip the downtown area and head for South Beach. The Mondrian South Beach, with its interior by Marcel Wanders (see profile on page 28) would be a great choice for design lovers. But if you’re after something modern and comfortable that feels a bit more like the real Miami, the W South Beach is also an excellent option.
This is one of W’s flagship hotels and features guest rooms with high ceilings, ceramic wood tiles, soft linen colours and glossy acrylic accents designed by Anna Busta of Studio B Design. Every room has a view of the beach.
Public spaces, also by Studio B Design, are cool and laid-back, with plenty of bright open spaces and ocean views. ‘The public areas of the hotel are designed to represent travel,’ says the hotel’s general manager George Cozonis. The W South Beach is also surrounded by great architecture, says Cozonis. ‘When I think of design I also think of how much great design there is in this area – Miami Beach is known for its art deco architecture, but there is so much great architecture in our immediate vicinity. For example, we have the Bass Museum of Art, which is in the park across the street, and was designed by Russell Pancoast, and the Miami Beach Library.’
The W is also within strolling distance of the new Miami Beach Library, which was designed by Robert A M Stern and the Arquitectonica-designed home of the Miami Ballet.
W’s vice president of brand design Ted Jacobs says that design is ‘built in to the DNA of the W brand’, and the company takes an active role in the Design Miami/Basel event each year, helping to organise an award and mentoring programme called Designer of the Future.
But it’s not just great design that makes the W South Beach worth a visit – the hotel also boasts a seriously impressive collection of contemporary art including works by Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst and Jean-Michel Basquiat, to name but a few.
The W is also perfectly placed for a visit to Miami’s Art Deco Historic District where you can see the largest collection of art deco architecture in the world including some amazing examples of deco sub-genres Mediterranean, streamline and modern.
Sun, sea and great design: Miami has it all.
