South Beach – The BIG BUBBLE Miami

Starchitect-Designed Courtyard Townhouse Just Off Lincoln Road Asks $3M

Off a narrow pedestrian alley off busy Lincoln Road, hidden behind 1111, the high-design parking garage famous for showing how beautiful parking garages could be, nestles a little hidden colony of courtyard townhouses sitting atop a few shops, cafes, and a fancy Japanese Peruvian restaurant. One of houses, designed by starchitect firm Herzog & de Meuron, who also did the rest of the 1111 complex, is on the market for $2.999 million.

ArquitectonicaGEO is redoing the Continuum’s Entry Drive in South Beach

The Continuum, that gigantic duo of residential towers at the southern point of South of Fifth, with its hundreds of units, acres of grounds, and oodles of amenities, is embarking on a multimillion-dollar renovation of its long entrance drive, which ascends two levels from the street to the main entrance, and will include the two roundabouts, the gatehouse, new pavers, a new fountain, and extensive landscaping. ArquitectonicaGEO, the landscape architecture arm of Miami megafirm Arquitectectonica, is handling the reno.

by Sean McCaughan

The Miami Beach Convention Center Unveils its New Public Art Collection and Canalside Park

The new public art adorning the Miami Beach Convention Center was recently unveiled, including a series of murals and a public park lining Collins Canal adorned with large aluminum sculptures. The art, as curated by the City of Miami Beach’s Art in Public Places initiative, includes site-specific permanent works by Joseph Kosuth, Joep van Lieshout, Ellen Harvey, and Franz Ackerman, with a tile installation by artist Sarah Morris set to debut by the end of the month. The Joep van Lieshout pieces, specifically, enhance the gorgeous new park along Collins Canal.

by Sean McCaughan

Inside Starchitect Jean Nouvel’s Monad Terrace, Which Just Topped Off in South Beach

Monad Terrace, famed French architect Jean Nouvel’s first project in Miami, has just topped off, and the Big Bubble got a hard hat tour of the boutique luxury condo project’s construction site with architect Kobi Karp, who collaborated with Nouvel on the project. Check it out, below.

by Sean McCaughan

Multifamily House Off Lincoln Road Has Owner’s Suite Upstairs & Lush Urban Garden Out Back

A large mediterranean revival house converted into stylish apartments, a half a block from Lincoln Road, in the heart of South Beach but still in a mainly residential area, is on the market for $3,050,000.

by Sean McCaughan

Painter Chuck Close Lists His South Beach Condo at the Setai for $4.1 Million

The renowned painter Chuck Close has listed his two bedroom, two bath condo on the 25th floor of the Setai in Miami Beach for $4.1 million. The artist isn’t going anywhere though. He’s just downsizing, and will occupy one of the two other condos he owns in the building, which he currently uses as a studio and guest quarters. Unit 2506 is listed by agent Marjory Dressler

by Sean McCaughan

Miami’s Ten Most Spectacular Rooftop Bars, Restaurants, and Lounges

When you’re in the mood for an exciting nightcap, a dinner with a view, or a party in the clouds, try out one of these urban hotspots in Miami. These are Miami’s ten most spectacular rooftop bars, restaurants, and lounges.

by Sean McCaughan

Late Starchitect Zaha Hadid’s Miami Condo Has Sold for $5.75M

The dearly departed grand dame of contemporary architecture, Zaha Hadid, was a big fan of Miami. The internationally renowned architect of the currently-under-construction One Thousand Museum in Downtown Miami loved Miami so much she had a vacation home here, where she spent a lot of time before her untimely death at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami Beach (yes, she even died here).

by Sean McCaughan

Inside the Almost-Complete Miami Beach Convention Center

The Miami Beach Convention Center renovation, designed by Fentress Architects (lead architect), Arquitectonica (facade and associate architect), and West 8 (landscape architect) is finally nearing completion, in time for Art Basel Miami Beach this year. The architects released photographs of the completed portions of the transformed convention center, giving an inside and outside hint at what to expect. Elements like the rooftop ballroom, the West 8-designed park, and the grand west lobby are still in the works.

by Sean McCaughan

How Scents Are Enhancing the Experiences of Some of Miami’s Greatest Buildings

Smell is the ignored sense of architecture, so to speak. While the way a building looks and handles sound (soundproofing, for example), and how the materials used to build it feel are all greatly considered, the experience of smell is often overlooked.