Arquitectonica

The 1982 Atlantis Condominum in downtown Miami by Arquitectonica is a bold building, with unexpected shapes and colors. This work is a celebration of the frivolity of Miami as a city obsessed with image and celebrity, and with lots of money to spend. It was famously (and apropiately) featured in the Miami Vice credits along with women in bathing suits, flamingos, windsurfs and speedboats. 

The Atlantis launched the Arquitectonica firm into stardom. Their ability to capture with such clarity the identity of a city in a building was indeed a notable achievement. As Miami's population exploded during the eighties and nineties, many of its new buildings were designed by this firm. Unfortunately, their later work is not quite as fresh as the Atlantis. It consists mostly of tall buildings with capricious shapes that do not always manage to convey a sense of place (or to stand out from what other architects are doing in Miami).

During my visit to Miami one other building by Arquitectonica caught my attention: a parking lot in South Beach. This structure was built over a group of existing buildings and disguised behind heavy gardening. This is a nice gesture both because of the preservation of the older buildings (which are probably protected) and because it hides a parking lot without pretending it's not there. The building is a nice addition to Miami; like the Atlantis, it makes for an interesting sight and is somewhat irreverent.