MAISON&OBJET Americas
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/503691
T H E A M ER I CA S PHOTOGRAPHY JEFF OVERS/BBC NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS VIA GET T Y IMAGES Home to one of the world's best and largest collections of historic Art Deco buildings and some of the hemi- sphere's top museums and cultural institutions—not to mention its alluring beaches and vibrant nightlife—Miami has much to offer visitors. The city's architecture has long been distinctive, and Miami's new landmarks are dazzling mani- festations of 21st-century design genius. One magnifi cent example is Frank Gehry's New World Center (500 17th St.; 305-673-3330) . The concert hall, which debuted in 2011, was conceived as a laboratory for exploring how music is performed, experienced, and taught. The interior of the six-story structure, located in South Beach, is an amalgam of large, dramatic geometric forms—a Gehry signature; a glass façade and an open atrium are other defi ning features. With a seating capacity of 756, it will be the site of the ceremony for Maison&Objet's Rising Talents Americas and Designer of the Year awards, when the worlds of design, media, and real estate celebrate this important step in establishing an annual Maison&Objet Americas tradition. Also helping to reshape Miami's urban landscape are Herzog & de Meuron, the Pritzker Prize – winning archi- tectural team who created 1111 Lincoln Road (1111lincolnroad.com) in South Beach in 2010. With a boundary-pushing design for an essentially utilitarian structure—a parking garage—the visionary building has been called "parking sculp- ture" and deemed a work of art by design critics. Jacques Herzog has said it's their most radical work to date, and the garage continues to attract notice for its synthesis of art, culture, and commerce. In addition to parked cars, 1111 houses retail businesses, residences, an event space, and a pool and garden on the roof. Herzog & de Meuron also designed the Pérez Art Museum Miami, another directional structure mindful of the local environment, incorporat- ing the outdoors in new and inventive ways. Other "starchitects" working in the commercial or residential realm (and sometimes both), such as Zaha Hadid, Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, Rem Koolhaas, and Carlos Ott, are shaping the look of the new Miami and highlighting the city's importance in the global design economy. These groundbreaking structures offer a unique, stimulating setting for the best designers from North and South America and 24 countries in Europe and Asia as they gather for Maison&Objet Americas. For the prominent architects and designers, trendsetters, innovators, and experts in lifestyle retail who converge at the fair, Miami's pro- gressive urban landscape is the perfect backdrop for four days of excitement, festivities, and stimulating thought and conversation about the future of design. From an economic perspective (and part of the reason that Maison&Objet chose the city), Miami represents a chance to tap two of the world's largest free-trade zones. North and South America offer an extraordinary market: An Ocean Drive skyscape reflects the city's Art Deco heritage. Miami is home to one of the world 's best and largest collections of historic Art Deco buildings. M&O M&O 40 M A I S O N - O B J E T. C O M