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General Site Considerations
Miami Beach owes its existence to the ocean, its beautiful beaches, and its year round subtropical climate. The development of this area of South Florida is deeply influenced by these characteristics. Together with Miami, each year the city of Miami Beach welcomes thousands of tourists from all over the world. These visitors flock to the beaches and sail out in cruise ships to enjoy the advantages of the mild and sunny climate offered by these young cities.
Miami Beach is a long and narrow island that extends for several miles and is connected to Miami through several causeways that offer beautiful vistas. With beaches aligning without interruption in a north south direction, Collins Avenue runs on the eastern part of Miami Beach. It is parallel to the beaches and serves as the major north/south thoroughfare. Although the character of Collins varies along its length (sometimes commercial others residential or both), it may be regarded as a typical American main street with strong vehicular traffic and commercial activities. It is necessary to mention that all the large hotels are either located along Collins Ave or in its immediate vicinity.
This backbone of commercial activity is then complemented by a few commercial streets running east/west. These streets are usually the continuation of the bridges that unite Miami Beach to the mainland.
Lincoln road can be seen as a unique piece in this street network, partially crossing the island as an elongated narrow plaza full of pedestrian activities, restaurants, shops and cultural venues. The road is intersected by some slow traffic streets that do not take away from its fully pedestrian character, while adding a spatial rhythm to the long stretch of sidewalks, urban furniture and landscaping.
Historical background
Described by Morris Lapidus (the quintessential Miami Beach architect of the 1950’s) as one of the first pedestrian malls in the United States, Lincoln Road was created as a commercial boulevard running east /west by the founders and developers of Miami Beach. This street, located next to today’s worldly renowned South Beach, after WWII was occupied by some of the signature shops in the country. However, in the late 50’s Lincoln Road saw a decrease in commercial activity due to a translation of the city’s tourist population towards the northern side of the island. In that northern area new motels recreated a mini Las Vegas nightscape. During the day the most affluent population was attracted to the new Bal Harbour shops, next to which Lapidus himself designed the famous Americana Hotel.
As a result, South Beach merchants began looking for new ways to bring back the tourists and shoppers. In 1959 they called on Morris Lapidus to design a landscaped mall with all traffic removed. In Lapidus’ own words it was to be “...A park like mall, full of pools and fountains with exotic concrete shelters and a band shell structure and an open air theater.” The mall prospered throughout the sixties and part of the seventies while six blocks were built until it fell in disrepair for several years.
In 1993, after the renaissance of the adjacent Art Deco district due to the implementation of historical preservation guidelines, Lincoln Road was renovated by a team of designers headed by Carlos Zapata. Currently with one of the youngest populations in the United States and an urban life superior to many larger American towns, South Beach offers city life at its best. There, Lincoln Road Mall stands as a social magnet and a catalyst for all things public. In addition, its high modern architectural language stands as an excellent example of the city’s post war boom and as a vivid reminder of Miami Beach’s experimental spirit amidst its famous Art Deco residential neighbors.
The design challenge
As it was previously stated Lincoln Road runs in an east westerly direction between the intracoastal and the ocean; however, the pedestrian mall is located between Lenox Avenue (west end) and Washington Avenue (east end). As a result of a clear definition between pedestrian and automobile, an urban gateway was designed by Carlos Zapata at the corner of Lincoln and Washington, a marker that could have housed a small tourist information booth.
In the western side, an atypical short block between Alton Road (the west side equivalent of Collins Ave) and Lenox Ave remains rather undefined with a landscaped median. There is automobile traffic on both sides of the median, and the mall ends in an elegant concrete canopy (built 1995) supported by light steel columns. Today, this canopy can be said to be the western entrance to the mall.
For the above mentioned reasons and because of the new urban massing and functional changes introduced by the large scale of a new cinema complex, this competition calls for ideas to explore the design possibilities of a new western entrance to Lincoln Road mall at the corner of Lincoln Road and Alton road and eventually extending the design until the western edge of Lenox Avenue .
The site
For the purpose of the competition the site can be defined as a rectangle whose four sides are limited by:
To the north: Existing North facade line of Lincoln Rd.
To the south: Existing South facade line of Lincoln Rd.
To the west: East side of Alton Road.
To the east: West side of Lenox Ave.
In order to allow maximum freedom to the designer’s, the site can be considered “empty”, where any kind of structure, urban furniture, landscaping etc. can be placed without any height restrictions.
It is important for all competitors to be aware of the importance of Lincoln Road nighttime activities and of the strong presence of the adjoining cinema complex.
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Awards
The awards will be as follows:
First Prize US$ 1000.
Honorable mentions will be distributed at the juror’s discretion. They will not carry monetary awards.
Registration and Information
Registration must be sent to:
Bienal 2005
275 University Drive
Coral Gables, FL 33134, USA
Att. Jaime Canaves FAIA, IIDA
Telephone: (305) 348 3031
Fax (305) 348 2650
bienal@bienalmiami.com
www.bienalmiami.com
Payment will be by credit card or check. Please include credit card, type, number and expiration date. Payment and payment information must be sent via fax or mail only.
The registration fee is US$ 20. Make checks payable to: Bienal Miami+Beach 2005.
Submissions
All designs are to be presented on one 30”x 40” sheet oriented in a vertical position and can be rigid lightweight (foam core) or rolled prior to submission. Only one board is allowed per entry.
English or metric scales will be accepted and must clearly show the scale of all drawings except perspective views.
Competitors may utilize any drawing medium or style they wish. Clarity and directness of representation should be the primary purpose of any graphic system used. Color is allowed. The panels are not to have projections or lift up overlays.
Required drawings and text
Plan, elevations, sections, construction details and perspectives (isometric or axonometric are allowed) should be drawn at a convenient scale to illustrate the design. A brief descriptive memory limited to a space of 8 ½ “ by 11” (21 x 28 cm) should accompany each project and be included in the overall design of the board. Any other text must be brief and to the point. The languages of the competition are English or Spanish.
Eligibility and anonymity
The competition is open to all architecture students of all countries. The presentation sheet may not contain any copy or marks that may identify the authors of the design. In the event that any such identification is ascertained, the entry will be disqualified.
The author will attach a sealed envelope to the back of the presentation sheet that contains the completed entry form for identification. In another sealed envelope with the words Registration clearly visible, the competitors will include proof of payment of the registration fee and proof of the institution in which the authors are matriculated.
Entrants are allowed to submit more than one entry as long as they pay the registration fee for each one of them.
Questions
Given the extension of the program there will be no question and answer period. Therefore, no questions will be answered regarding any aspect of the competition.
Timetable
July 10, 2005: Program available for downloading from website. Registration opens.
July 25, 2005: Program sent by email to schools and institutions worldwide
September 26, 2005: Registration closes.
October 28, 2005: Entries due at sponsor’s address by 4pm (Eastern time).
November 4-18, 2005: Jury deliberations, project exhibit and announcement of winners.
Announcement, display and publication of results
The organizers will have the right to publish, display, reproduce or otherwise publicize all design submissions.
The authors will be identified in all such publications or displays.
The organizers shall have the exclusive right to issue all public announcements regarding the results of the competition.
Ownership and use of design submissions
The organizers will retain the ownership of all awarded submissions.
The organizers will not return any design submissions. For that reason, competitors are advised to make record copies of their design submissions prior to sending them.
No restriction is placed on the use of any design submission by its authors, excluding the design awarded first prize.
The winning design and the winning competitor
The organizers shall own and have the right to exhibit and publish all entries.
The winner designated by the jury will be paid the total amount of US$1000. This amount will cover the cost of the documents submitted by the 1st place winner during the competition stage.
Authorship
All competitors, individual or team, entering the competition agree that the work they submit is entirely their own, and does not infringe any patent or copyright.
Disqualification
Any competitors who break any of the competition rules or who fail to fulfill the requirements of the competition program will be disqualified and their submission will not be considered. All participants should be undergraduate or graduate students of any architecture school worldwide at the time of the deadline for submissions.
Registration form (Send via fax only)
Student
Address
City
Phone/Fax
Email
Other team members
School and year.
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Card Number:
Expiration date:
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