There is no shortage of glamorous residential architecture in Miami – from the new-build wonders of the likes of One Thousand Museum by Zaha Hadid, to the rich art deco heritage, this is a city awash with luxury housing options. Now, a new addition makes its entrance in the scene, as today marks the official opening of Jade Signature, Pritzker Prize-winning Swiss practice Herzog & de Meuron’s latest local offering.
The architects are well-known for their critically acclaimed work in Miami, which includes high profile commission such as 1111 Lincoln Road, and the Peréz Art Museum – and this oceanfront property, which sits in the Sunny Isles Beach neighbourhood, was developed for husband-and-wife team Edgardo and Ana Cristina Defortuna of Fortune International Group. For Jade Signature, Herzog & de Meuron worked with celebrated Miami landscape architect Raymond Jungles and Parisian interior designer Pierre Yves-Rochon.
Light and elegant, Jade Signature’s concrete, sinuous form clearly stands out among its neighbours for its bright white presence and shimmering glazing. Slabs clearly articulate different floors, while windows are recessed in a gesture that further enhances the building’s highly sculptural character. Comprising 192 residences serviced by a rich selection of amenities – such as swimming pool, private beach, spa, playrooms and a wine bar and lounge – the development also features state-of-the-art smart technology throughout.
The design is not all about the aesthetics. The architects took extra care to ensure the building adheres to environmentally friendly principles, using the natural context in an eco-conscious manner. Natural ventilation is encouraged throughout, while a combination of carefully placed windows and a strategically orientated overall volume, means that the apartments can be lit but also cooled down naturally as much as possible.
‘Jade Signature is a tower on the beach. Like the great Miami hotels we have come to admire, it is a building rooted directly in the landscape and the city around it. Interior and exterior are seamlessly bound together’, say the architects. ‘The Jade Signature project is expressive of its residential program, its relationship to the beach and the historical context of the city around it. Through an arrangement of slabs and structural walls, solid elements and open terraces, the tower is a simple gesture that gains in depth and complexity as it is approached and experienced.’
