New York–based developers Sumaida + Khurana recently announced the design for an office building in Miami Beach, Florida, by Pritzker Prize–winning Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura. When built, it will be the architect’s first completed project in North America.
On the corner of Fifth Street and Alton Road in Miami Beach, Souto de Moura will deliver a new Class A+ office building. Zyscovich is the executive architect, and Gabellini Sheppard is the interior architect. Gabellini Sheppard, which appeared on AN Interior’s Top 50 list last year, previously completed interiors for 611 West 56th, designed by Álvaro Siza and developed by Sumaida + Khurana.
“The location of our project at Fifth and Alton presented us with a truly significant and monumental opportunity to develop a gateway building, a structure one first sees when entering a city,” said Saif Sumaida, founding partner at Sumaida + Khurana.
The five-story building will occupy an entire block frontage just across from the MacArthur Causeway. The design incorporates double-height voids and mirrored details to create a sense of depth and reflection.
The scheme stands to deliver a modern office experience with a design that focuses on poetic form, simplicity, beauty, and exquisite detailing. Eduardo Souto de Moura is known for delivering this quality in his buildings. To do so in Miami Beach, the Pritzker Laureate deploys materials like concrete, glass, and pink coral stone.
The office building will stand out from its context thanks to concrete slabs and fins that subtly diminish at each floor with a knife-edge slab at the roof of the building. Articulating walls and ceilings appear as floating volumes, creating a sense of lightness across the structure. Moreover, a singular lighting installation will offer visitors a sublime experience.
The building marks Sumaida + Khurana’s second project in Miami’s lavish South of Fifth neighborhood. Previously, it began work on an office building with Alberto Campo Baeza in partnership with developers at Bizzi + Bilgili. When built, Souto de Moura’s scheme will be his first completed project in North America. In 2015, designs circulated for a brick and concrete building in Georgetown.
Souto de Moura’s design will be presented to the Miami Beach Planning Board on April 25. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2025 and complete in 2026.
