Miami Beach Design Review Board Unanimously Approves Design of Miami Convention Center Renovation and Public Space Design Project

Situated at the crossroads of residential neighborhoods, the New World Symphony campus, Miami Beach Botanical Garden, and Lincoln Road, the renewed 40-acre Convention Center district dramatically improves the day-to-day experience for residents and convention attendees alike.

Fentress Architects lead the $500 million design of the Convention Center Renovation, Arquitectonica is designing the facades for the Convention Center building, and West 8 leads the design of the public spaces and park pavilion building.

Along with a completely renovated Convention Center, twelve acres of new public spaces are being added to the district, restitching the convention center to its neighborhoods and providing shady, relaxing green spaces. Design Review Board member Edgar Sarli commented that the park design “will make this place a paradise. I’m happy to be a neighbor that will be able to experience the park.’’

The Convention Center’s existing 5.8 acre truck staging and parking lot is transformed into a new world-class public park with a plant pallet that showcases the unique flora and botany of Miami Beach, and provides flexible lawn areas.  A Veteran’s Memorial is designed to seamlessly weave into the park experience while providing a place to honor and tell the unique story of Miami Beach’s Veterans.
 
The Park Pavilion is an elegant restaurant and public amenity building.The Park Pavilion has its own custom concrete “umbrellas” that cast soft shade with ribbons of sunlight on the paving. The tall umbrellas and full-length glass that encloses the program space provide transparent visual connections from inside the building to the park along three facades.
 
The district’s streetscapes have a boulevard-like feel, and thereconfigured Convention Center Drive creates an important connection to Lincoln Road and a dignified drop off for taxis and buses for convention-attendees.
 
Another new three-and-a half acre park is located at the north side of the Convention Center.West 8’s design features ample shade trees, a butterfly garden, a ballroom terrace, a plant palate that showcases native plants, and bike-friendly pathways next to the Collins Canal. Most notably, a majestic Strangler Fig is preserved and celebrated as a feature in this park area.
 
Ground breaking on the Convention Center Renovation project is scheduled to begin in December 2015 after Art Basel. The Convention Center renovation will be completed in 2017, and the park will be open in 2018.

To see more on the project: Miami Beach Convention Center

Project Team: Fentress Architects (prime architect), West 8 (lead landscape architect), Arquitectonica (building skin design), Kimley Horn (civil engineering), M-E Engineers (electrical, lighting),Delta Fountains (water features)