Buoyant City: Historic District Resiliency & Adaptation Guidelines

Miami Beach, Florida | 2020

Over the next 60 years, most buildings in the historic districts of Miami Beach will need to be substantially rehabilitated/reconstructed to provide necessary resilience to rising waters. How shall this be accomplished, and what time of city will result? Will these areas survive as historic districts?

BUOYANT CITY argues that Miami Beach’s historic districts should be preserved, must evolve to survive, and that preservation can be redeployed as a powerful adaptive tool; the City of Miami Beach must reconsider its preservation standards, and create mechanisms that will allow for adaptive development, by allowing new layers of urban fabric to grow from within.

With almost 20% of the built structures in the City of Miami Beach under historic designation, including most of its commercial neighborhoods, the need for action has become ever more urgent. Led by the submitting architect, a multidisciplinary, international team engaged in a 6-month process of development. Immediate, Mid- and Long-term strategies were explored across a timeline of 60 years. Using a typological approach, the team ultimately recommended two strategies and a series of general recommendations as well as specific guidelines including cost estimates for each building type. The resultant document functions as a pragmatic tool for the City, for developers and homeowners as Miami Beach faces this unprecedented challenge.

Awards:

2020 AIA Florida Citation Award / Unbuilt

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