Eighty Seven Park

Miami Beach, Florida, USA

Located at the northern boundary of Miami Beach where park meets ocean, Eighty Seven Park creates a fresh dialogue with the vibrant community of North Beach. Working in collaboration with Renzo Piano Building Workshop, West 8 has designed a series of private, public, and semi-public spaces for a residential tower that are inspired by the site’s extraordinary setting and the lush tropical landscapes of South Florida.

Extending right up to the edge of property and adjoining a newly-invigorated North Shore Open Space Park, the design seamlessly brings together architecture, city, and the natural landscape.

Creating a dialogue between private and public, natural and manmade, and indoor and outdoor spaces is fundamental to West 8’s design.  In the 1.5-acre private garden on the north side of the property, two elegant water features and a series of intimate foot paths introduce a language of minimalist linearity that stands in contrast to the rich and varied palette of tropical foliage. Narrow channels of water reflect the sun and pull the eye toward the expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.

Eighty Seven Park is situated on the waterfront in an area that would naturally exist as a dune ecosystem. West 8’s design preserves and enhances this natural coastal condition but acknowledges the urban conditions that characterize the site today. The planting palette has been carefully curated, guided by a biotope zoning plan, to achieve site-appropriate planting that is visually and spatially stunning.

The success of the design lies in simple and bold interventions that are rooted in a deep appreciation of the site’s ecological and cultural significance. Its adjacency to the park and ocean, convenient access to the city, and unique coastal ecology—and brings them into harmony to create an urban Eden.

Photography: Robin Hill