Title: Cure Penabad-Oak Plaza
1Oak Plaza
- Location Miamis Design District
Cure-Penabad, Adib-Cure, Carie-Penabad,
Architecture-Miami, Latinamerican-Architecture,
Vernacularology, Architecture-University-Miami-sch
ool, AIA-MIAMI, Oak-Plaza
2The project sets out to define a true center for
Miamis Design District by creating the first
public space in the neighborhood. An
underutilized parking lot, with an existing stand
of mature white oaks, was transformed into a
paved plaza lined by a thin retail building and
an adjacent loggia.
Cure-Penabad, Adib-Cure, Carie-Penabad,
Architecture-Miami, Latinamerican-Architecture,
Vernacularology, Architecture-University-Miami-sch
ool, AIA-MIAMI, Oak-Plaza
3The walls of the buildings were clad in an
undulating pattern of green and blue glass mosaic
tiles that transformed the ordinary masonry
surfaces into a vibrant urban mural.
Cure-Penabad, Adib-Cure, Carie-Penabad,
Architecture-Miami, Latinamerican-Architecture,
Vernacularology, Architecture-University-Miami-sch
ool, AIA-MIAMI, Oak-Plaza
4Beyond the new plaza, the project proposed a new
street which allowed pedestrians to bisect the
length of the existing block. The street provided
an unprecedented moment for collaboration. At the
onset, the client hired two independent firms to
design new retail buildings on either side of the
street.
Cure-Penabad, Adib-Cure, Carie-Penabad,
Architecture-Miami, Latinamerican-Architecture,
Vernacularology, Architecture-University-Miami-sch
ool, AIA-MIAMI, Oak-Plaza
5Rather than working in isolation, the offices
chose to establish a dialogue in the belief that
structuing similarities within the urban realm
would create a more memorable street section in
striking contrast to the immediate environment
which often lacks urban continuity.
Cure-Penabad, Adib-Cure, Carie-Penabad,
Architecture-Miami, Latinamerican-Architecture,
Vernacularology, Architecture-University-Miami-sch
ool, AIA-MIAMI, Oak-Plaza