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
| Jun 11, 2014
5 ways Herman Miller's new office concept rethinks the traditional workplace
Today's technologies allow us to work anywhere. So why come to an office at all? Herman Miller has an answer.
| Jun 9, 2014
Green Building Initiative launches Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors program
The new program focuses exclusively on the sustainable design and construction of interior spaces in nonresidential buildings and can be pursued by both building owners and individual lessees of commercial spaces.
Smart Buildings | Jun 8, 2014
Big Data: How one city took control of its facility assets with data
Over the past few years, Buffalo has developed a cutting-edge facility management program to ensure it's utilizing its facilities and operations as efficiently, effectively, and sustainably as possible.
| Jun 2, 2014
Parking structures group launches LEED-type program for parking garages
The Green Parking Council, an affiliate of the International Parking Institute, has launched the Green Garage Certification program, the parking industry equivalent of LEED certification.
| May 30, 2014
Riding high: L.A., Chicago working on their version of the High Line elevated park
Cities around the U.S. are taking notice of New York's highly popular High Line elevated park system. Both Chicago and Los Angeles are currently working on High Line-like projects.
| May 29, 2014
7 cost-effective ways to make U.S. infrastructure more resilient
Moving critical elements to higher ground and designing for longer lifespans are just some of the ways cities and governments can make infrastructure more resilient to natural disasters and climate change, writes Richard Cavallaro, President of Skanska USA Civil.
| May 23, 2014
Top interior design trends: Gensler, HOK, FXFOWLE, Mancini Duffy weigh in
Tech-friendly furniture, “live walls,” sit-stand desks, and circadian lighting are among the emerging trends identified by leading interior designers.
| May 21, 2014
Gehry unveils plan for renovation, expansion of Philadelphia Museum of Art [slideshow]
Gehry's final design reorganizes and expands the building, adding more than 169,000 sf of space, much of it below the iconic structure.
| May 20, 2014
Kinetic Architecture: New book explores innovations in active façades
The book, co-authored by Arup's Russell Fortmeyer, illustrates the various ways architects, consultants, and engineers approach energy and comfort by manipulating air, water, and light through the layers of passive and active building envelope systems.
| May 19, 2014
What can architects learn from nature’s 3.8 billion years of experience?
In a new report, HOK and Biomimicry 3.8 partnered to study how lessons from the temperate broadleaf forest biome, which houses many of the world’s largest population centers, can inform the design of the built environment.
