Plaza 57
1999-2005
7300 SW 57 Court, South Miami, Florida
This project is the first large-scale building to maintain the intent of “The Hometown Plan” overlay ordinance in South Miami, Florida. It is a commercial mixed-use building that combines a developer’s desire for office space while creating a meaningful urban street. It realizes the goal of “The Hometown Plan” by internalizing parking, creating generous sidewalks and incorporating an arcade. The project urbanizes an undeveloped site in the center of South Miami’s commercial district. Currently, this commercial center is overrun by commuter traffic and surface parking lots. Plaza 57 develops the inherent urban potential of this site. This structure is composed of office space, retail space and parking. Despite this mundane program, the architecture is conceived as an urban component of the public realm of the city. Its colonnade transforms a neglected site into a space of civic engagement. As an urban structure it employs the typology of the façade, exhibiting an eighteen bay structure with variations that distinguish its entrance, base, ends and top. The colonnade and the top floor terraces constitute a permeable façade that acts to create a critical element of the city, a pedestrian friendly street.
Award
Silver Award for Plaza 57 a Mixed-Used Development Builder’s Association of South Florida, 2001
Project Team
Jason R. Chandler, A.I.A., Pablo Hernandez
Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing Engineering: Franyie Engineering Inc.
Structural Engineering: De Los Reyes Engineering Inc.
Civil Engineering: Zamora and Associates, Inc.
Photography
Thomas Delbeck