CHARLES ALBERT, 45
Charles Albert Inc. Jewelry / Pompano Beach

[Photo:Shamayim]

Neither as a child collecting stones behind his grandmother's Pennsylvania home nor as a soldier did Charles Albert figure he'd eventually become one of the most innovative and successful jewelry designers in the country. "I graduated from Army boot camp before I graduated from high school," he says, "because I wanted to make money to pay for college. I got a degree in business management, but I had no idea what I was going to do with it."

After bouncing from a job at a security system company to a gig selling cashmere scarves, he decided he needed something more permanent. Albert bought five dozen pairs of earrings for $60, and sold them for $120. He then bought more earrings and flipped those for $240. And so it went. Then he traveled to Mexico with $1,200 to buy silver. He continued to buy and then sell at a profit — until it got boring. "I decided to start doing my own designs and setting stones," he says. "It allowed me to explore my artistic side and make a profit at the same time, and it was much more interesting than just buying and selling." As his financial resources increased, he says, "I got crazier with my designs and started doing things no one else was doing."

Today, Albert has a workshop in Pompano Beach with a dozen employees as well as 40 people working for him in Mexico. His necklaces, rings, cuffs and earrings are showpieces comprising massive chunks of semi-precious stones and crystals such as quartz, agate, citrine, turquoise and amethyst, which he collects during trips to locales as near as Tucson and as far away as India. They're set in sterling silver because, Albert says, "It's a step up from costume jewelry, but people are price-conscious." In August, he launched a new line, Alchemia, made with materials Albert calls "zero-karat" gold. "It has the warmth and feel of 18k gold, but there's no precious metal in it, so my wholesale costs come in at half of what silver costs, but there's the same quality of work in it. And we use a special lacquering system on it to ensure it won't tarnish. The color is dead on."

• Prices: $29 to $3,000

• Star quality: Pop stars Cee Lo Green and Ke$ha have been photographed wearing Charles Albert jewelry.

CHAD OPPENHEIM, 40
Oppenheim Architecture + Design / Miami - COR building / proposed

Chad Oppenheim's love affair with architecture began when he was 7 years old, at the kitchen table where his parents designed the plans for their own house. "It was during the last energy crisis, so they were exploring the idea of wind turbines," he recalls. "The neighbors rejected the idea because of how high they would extend above the roof, but the idea is something that's been fascinating to me for a long time." So when he became an architect himself, Oppenheim says, "I felt that there was a possibility of creating a building that is functional, efficient, beautiful and full of fantasy — and hopefully set forth a new way of thinking in terms of saving the planet one building at a time."

Hence, COR, a mixed-use high-rise so named for two reasons. "One is an energy 'core,' because the building would produce energy, and the other is that it was in the Design District, and it would act as the center, or 'core,' of the area," Oppenheim says. The 400-foot tower was designed to extract power from its environment using wind turbines, photovoltaic panels and solar hot-water generation, all of which are incorporated into the "skin" of the edifice. "In typical buildings, you need a lot of beefy structure inside for things like wind resistance, for example," Oppenheim says. "That gets very expensive and disruptive to the floor plans. Here, the skin of the building is actually the structure as well."

[Photo: Dbox]

Arriving at a design that would work required extensive investigations and numerous sketches. The process took a couple of months before the idea was "cooked" enough, met the city's code requirements and resulted in a shape that worked best. "It was an arduous process, but I like those challenges," he says. "They force you to think outside the box."

COR was to be completed last year but fell victim to the real estate crisis and is now on hold. However, the design has, as Oppenheim puts it, become "the poster child of green architecture." He receives up to 10 e-mails a week from students and design professionals around the world who are inspired by the concept of COR, and developers from Canada and China have expressed a desire to build it. "I hope it gets built in Miami," he says. "The city deserves this landmark of a new ecology."

• Vice grip: Michael Mann, producer of Miami Vice — the show that inspired New Jersey-native Oppenheim to move to Miami as a young man — has said Oppenheim's architecture represents "the new Miami."

• First south Florida, then the world: Oppenheim has added offices in Los Angeles and Basel, Switzerland.

[Photo: Dbox]

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GERMAN BRUN, 38 LIZMARIE ESPARZA, 32
DEN Architecture / Miami - Salvade-Serenelli residential renovation

[Photo: Greg Clark]

The husband-and-wife team of Germán Brun and Lizmarie Esparza, principals of DEN Architecture — the "D" is for design, "EN" for environment — are serious about sustainability. "Even the paper we use for our stationery is 100% reprint cotton. There's not a splinter of wood in it. Sustainable design percolates throughout every aspect of our practice."

[Photo: Greg Clark]

An example of that philosophy can be seen in DEN's renovation of the kitchen and two bathrooms in a Pinecrest home. To create an airy, open layout, two non-load-bearing walls were removed from the 525-sq.-ft. kitchen, which had originally been partitioned. The color scheme was inspired by a coconut — a palette of rich, dark brown woods and stark white, which was used to emphasize areas of activity and add volume amid the chocolate tones. "White counters also maximize daylight, which reflects off them through the windows, making less artificial light necessary," Brun says. Wood materials were all certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, meaning they are from a forest with controlled logging — basically ensuring that "you're not chopping down half a forest to build one cabinet," Brun says.

The mission for the master bath was to transform it into a multipurpose bathroom that balanced formal compositions with casual materials. To save money on the renovation of the guest bath, they repurposed a large mirror and used prefabricated components bought from local retail stores.

"The market is driving builders and developers to go this route," Brun says of green practice. "People want to save money on water and on energy. More homes will be built with increased insulation, better roofing products that reflect UV rays and allow homes to stay cooler, and more efficient appliances. It's unstoppable."

• 'Green' tool: "There's a lot of 'greenwashing' out there — people using the term 'green' as a marketing tool, but their work isn't guided by the principles of sustainability."

• Garden aid: "We're just finishing a house that can harvest rainwater for gardening."

[Photo: Greg Clark]

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NORMAN LOVE, 51
Norman Love Confections / Fort Myers, Naples

[Photo: Norman Love Confections]

Norman Love spent 12 years traveling 42 weeks a year as corporate executive pastry chef for Ritz-Carlton, overseeing the brand's global pastry and baking operations. "What I learned in my travels is that people eat with their eyes first," he says.

When he and his wife decided to open their own business 10 years ago, the visual aspect of his premium chocolates and confections was as much a priority as the taste and quality. "It used to be that dessert meant a piece of cake plopped on a plate," says Love. "But I learned the importance of turning it into an architectural, artistic expression, and I wanted to give Americans the oh-my-God-wow factor at the table. And, of course, taste is of primary importance."

Love applied techniques for decorating and coloring cocoa butters that he had learned in France. He crafts everything from desserts such as bitter chocolate mousse and raspberry crème brulée to his signature chocolates and truffles.

"I'm not into making honey-blossom-pollen-flavored whatever; that's not me," he says. "Americans don't really understand that. I do easily identifiable flavors, like cookies and cream or a caramel, but executed perfectly and so unbelievably beautiful you can't wait to put it in your mouth."

Together, Love's 6,000-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility and chocolate shop in Fort Myers and his smaller Naples store employ 45 people, who crank out between 40,000 and 50,000 handmade pieces a day during season, although Love says, "A lot don't make the final cut." His production manager not only has a degree in art, pottery and sculpting, but also has studied the culinary arts. Others on his staff also have art and culinary backgrounds. "Dessert is a great way to express art," Love says. "I encourage them to be creative, and I empower them to do what they do best."

• Prices: Chocolates run from $13 for a five-piece box to $95 for a 50-piece box.

• Stumbling block: "I've been working on a coffee-and-doughnut-flavored chocolate for three years but can't get it right. The coffee part is easy, but the doughnut is tough."

» Future (sugar) shock: A gelateria is in the works for the space next door to his Fort Myers flagship store.

DESIGN: READERS CHOICE

FloridaTrend.com would like to thank all the readers who submitted ideas for the "Readers Choice" part of its architecture and design coverage in September. Submissions came from all over the state, in a number of categories. The following are some of the more interesting structures and products that combined a distinctive aesthetic appeal with function.

» Amway Center, Orlando — The city-owned sports and entertainment facility opened in late 2010. The 875,000-sq.-ft. building, home to the Orlando Magic, features a striking combination of metal and glass and a 180-foot tower. It is LEED Gold certified (click to see photo). The center sports the tallest high-definition video board in an NBA venue and some 1,100 video monitors. The building was designed by C.T. Hsu + Associates and Baker Barrios Architects.

» Cradle of Hope — The designers of this patented cradle created it to serve parents and babies living in homeless shelters. The design positions the cradle above a cantilevered base that slides under the parent's bunk. It occupies very little floor space and positions the child immediately next to the parent. Infants in homeless shelters typically must sleep either in a car seat or in the bed with the parent, creating the risk of accidental smothering. Built with all-green materials, the cradle was designed by an alumna of FSU's interior design program, Rachelle McClure, and Sean Coyne, an engineer at the National Magnetic Field Lab at FSU. Find out more, and see a photo, here. Also see a diagram of the cradle.

» The Dali Museum, St. Petersburg — The new home for the largest collection of Salvador Dali's work outside Spain has become an instant icon since it opened on St. Petersburg's waterfront in January. Designed by Yann Weymouth of Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK), the 66,450-sq.-ft. building features distinctive glass structures that flow out of the building toward the water. The artwork is on the third floor of the building, which can withstand 165-mph winds. In the photo at right, galleries wind sensually around spiraling stairs that echo Dali's fascination with the discovery of the double helix. The Dali website is here.

» The Solaris — Miami designer Barry McCarthy created this parabolic structure to provide shade for outdoor activities. It's built from ecologically harvested Colombian timber bamboo and is engineered to handle high winds. A commercial-grade fabric provides the cover. McCarthy, who operates a bamboo design and building company, received a design patent for the Solaris in 2010. Bamboobarry.com

» E.O. Wilson Biophilia Center, Freeport — The center is an educational facility that's part of the 49,000-acre Nokuse Plantation — conservation lands assembled by Walton County businessman M.C. Davis. It includes an exhibit hall, classrooms, science labs and a 160-seat theater. It will also house the Emerald?Coast Wildlife Refuge. The building, which received an AIA Design Award in 2010, was designed by Wallrap Architecture and Interior Design. See photos of the Biophilia Center here.

» Historic Shed, Brooksville — An offshoot of Preservation Resource, a design and consulting firm, Historic Shed builds sheds, garages and other secondary structures that complement historic homes. The products, which meet all building codes, use traditional details and designs and can be customized.

» Sarasota Police Department Headquarters — $1 million worth of construction problems, including a leaky roof, leaky fuel tanks, a loud air conditioning system and doors that won't close have turned the $50-million building into a bit of a headache for the city. Once fixed however, the building is expected to be completely functional, and assume its predicted role as an architectural jewel. Read more at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. For a photo gallery of the Sarasota Police Headquarters building, click here.

» "Bubble Desk," Shelborne South Beach hotel lobby, Miami — Although it's just one element in the multimillion-dollar renovation of the hotel, the reception desk in the lobby is eye-catching. Comprised of 1,200 backlit acrylic globes, the desk was inspired by Morris Lapidus' MiMo style. Jonathan Cardello, principal of ADD Inc., is the lead architect/designer behind the renovation. Click for a photo of the bubble desk.