The expansion and renovation of the 1,435,000-sf Miami Beach Convention Center has recently completed.
The project was designed with the goal of making Miami Beach Convention Center the most technologically-advanced center in the U.S. and to provide upgraded show needs and increase the potential for the city to market the center on an international basis. Achieving this goal involved complex renovations and replacements of virtually all the building’s electrical and mechanical operating systems.
Courtesy Fentress Architects.
The project includes a new 60,000-sf ballroom and 127,000 sf of new meeting spaces. The completed project will accommodate 500,000 sf of exhibit hall space with increased power and improved IT connectivity capacities, increased ballroom and meeting areas, and renovated back-of-house spaces. Additionally, over six acres of parking lot space has been transformed into space for a public park and landscaping and infrastructure improvements, including a tropical garden, game lawn, shaded areas, veterans plaza, pavilion, and a water feature.
Courtesy Fentress Architects.
The renovation concepts were inspired by modern designs incorporating natural elements of the ocean, beach, and underwater life. Waves, manta rays, and coral reefs were studied as part of the design process. The building envelope is designed with linear forms that create a curvilinear undulation inspired by ocean waves. The facade has hurricane resistant connections meant to withstand even the largest storms. The project was built with the future in mind by using steel construction with composite metal decks for raised floors in the case of rising sea levels. The interior design finishes emulates receding water, sea foam, and patterns relating to various typed of local coral reef.
The completed project earned LEED Silver certification.
Photo: Robin HIll.
Related Stories
| Oct 20, 2014
UK's best new building: Everyman Theatre wins RIBA Stirling Prize 2014
The new Everyman Theatre in Liverpool by Haworth Tompkins has won the coveted RIBA Stirling Prize 2014 for the best building of the year. Now in its 19th year, the RIBA Stirling Prize is the UK’s most prestigious architecture prize.
Sponsored | | Oct 19, 2014
The Exploration Tower in Port Canaveral dazzles visitors
With a mission to provide the experience of a lifetime, the Exploration Tower at Port Canaveral, Fla., is designed to inspire, as visitors learn about the history and nature of the port and beyond. SPONSORED CONTENT
| Oct 19, 2014
White House Visitor Center reopens in Washington, D.C.
Designed by SmithGroupJJR and Gallagher & Associates, renovated center shows public its unique role as office, stage, museum, park, and home.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Oct 9, 2014
Steven Holl's 'intersecting spheres' scheme for Taipei necropolis gets green light
The schematic design has been approved for the 50 000-sm Arrival Hall and Oceanic Pavilion for the Taiwan ChinPaoSan Necropolis.
| Oct 8, 2014
First look: Woods Bagot unveils plans for new Christchurch Convention Center
The locally-inspired building is meant to serve as a symbol of the city's recovery from the earthquake of 2011.
| Oct 2, 2014
Budget busters: Report details 24 of the world's most obscenely over-budget construction projects
Montreal's Olympic Stadium and the Sydney Opera House are among the landmark projects to bust their budgets, according to a new interactive graph by Podio.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
