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Designs in the Sun
The firm also designed the $200-million AmericanAirlines Arena in downtown Miami. The waterfront structure, which opened New Year's Eve 1999, has received critical acclaim for its pedestrian accessibility and the use of natural lighting inside. Other recent Florida designs include the Miami City Ballet building and the 35-story Waverly apartment tower, both on Miami Beach.
ARQ employs more than 300 professionals in 10 offices worldwide. The company's co-founder and principal, Laurinda Spear, attributes the firm's longevity to the belief that architecture is an art, not a science. Structural problem-solving is important, but so is self-expression. "Everything you do -- no matter how small of a building or inconsequential a piece of one -- can be beautifully and artistically done," she advises.
Spear says the new generation of architects needs to take chances to get ahead. By remaining conservative, they won't break out of the mold. "We've always strived to have fun with what we do," she says. "You can tell which architects are deriving pleasure from what they do. It definitely shows in their work."
A Design of Our Own
As a high-growth state, Florida has no shortage of architects specializing in urban design and town planning. That concentration, coupled with concerns over sprawl and environmental sustainability, has helped Florida develop a reputation worldwide as the wellspring of New Urbanism, a design movement that encourages high-density, mixed-use developments while discouraging reliance on the automobile. Indeed, many design critics point to the 1982 master plan for Destin's Seaside community as the seminal New Urbanism project. Others, such as Windsor in Vero Beach and Disney's Celebration south of Orlando, now abound. The University of Miami, whose architecture dean, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, was one of the founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism, has adopted New Urbanism (sometimes called traditional neighborhood development) as its ideological underpinning.
A number of Florida design firms champion the New Urbanism approach. Among them is Miami-based Dover, Kohl & Partners, a 14-member firm specializing in town planning. Much of its work is with local governments, helping them to revitalize town centers and develop strategies to limit sprawl. Among the firm's current projects are revitalization plans for Miami Springs' city center and a master plan for south Miami. It is also working on a comprehensive community design blueprint for Collier County, advising officials on ways to cope with one of highest rates of population growth in the nation. About 40% of the firm's work involves designing planned communities, including one under way in Istanbul, Turkey.
Like others trained in the New Urbanism approach, Dover, Kohl founding partner Victor Dover sees town planning as a vital tool for growth management. Neighborhoods that allow people to live, work and play nearby will reduce traffic. Communities with ample green space help conserve water by allowing rainwater to seep underground, recharging the aquifer. Homes with front porches encourage neighbors to interact, creating social networks and possibly reducing crime.
New Urbanists often speak of "livable neighborhoods" as the antidote to sprawl. One metaphorical litmus test of such a neighborhood, says Dover,
is whether a child can walk to a corner store and buy ice cream. That rarely happens in a typical suburban sub-
division.
"Traditional neighborhoods are incredibly more efficient," says Dover. "If we do things right, and responsibly, growth and change can make things better, not worse."
Florida's Hot Designers
The state has an abundance of architects. Here are a few to watch:
Alison Spear, Alison Spear, AIA, Miami
The sister of ARQ co-founder Laurinda Spear, she designed furniture designer Holly Hunt's showroom in the Miami Design District.
CVV and Partners, Coral Gables
The town planners are exporting New Urbanism to Latin America.
Hersh Vitalini Corazzini, Coral Gables
A private home in Brazil, a church in Miami and historic restoration work in Sarasota show the firm's range.
Gilchrist and Crowe, Tallahassee
Architecture's high-tech leaders run a near-paperless design shop. The firm's architects are among design-team regulars at Florida State and Florida A&M universities.
Jan Smith, Smith-McCrary Architects, Jacksonville
She designed a sports complex for Florida Community College in Jacksonville.
Terry Irwin, Terry Irwin, AIA, Windermere
One of the designers of the Orlando Museum of Art now specializes in luxury homes.
Anthony Abbate, Anthony Abbate Architect, Fort Lauderdale
The winner of last year's Arango Design Award, Abbate is revitalizing a Fort Lauderdale neighborhood.
Eric Watson, Eric Watson Architect, Tampa
He specializes in high-end residential at neo-traditional communities such as Seaside and Rosemary Beach, both in Destin.
Balancing Form and Function
Good design not only looks nice; it solves problems.
Sarasota's Guy Peterson is a two-time winner of the Award of Honor from the Florida chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the state's highest honor. The most recent, in 2000, was for the Ana Clerio house on Longboat Key. Among his other designs are the Annette Theisen Residence, a private home on Sarasota Bay; the Sarasota Memorial Hospital Critical Care Center on South Tamiami Trail; and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement headquarters in Tallahassee. Currently working on a new police station and town hall for Longboat Key, Peterson recently spoke with Florida Trend:
How do you define good architecture?
I define it as a responsible solution to a set of problems. Architects are problem-solvers. You must take into account such things as light and space, the environment, weather, a whole set of parameters. Then you try to solve those problems in a way that allows you to create a building that is timeless, not dated by fads or trends.
What is your take on the proverbial form vs. function conflict?
The form should express the function, but the form should also express the climate, the topography, the context of where the building is -- is it on the beach or water or downtown? So function is a determinant of form, but it is not the exclusive one.
What are the greatest challenges of architecture today?
Probably keeping abreast of the constantly changing jurisdictional requirements -- zoning laws, Federal Emergency Management Agency and flooding concerns, state and coastal permitting, environmental issues, homeowners covenants, other residential restrictions -- just a whole gamut of jurisdictional requirements that can shape the parameters of the project. So the goal of the architect is to figure out how to let these things guide you but not bog you down. Even with all these restrictions, you still have to come up with a good design that expresses what you and the client want.
Architecture can be confusing, with so many styles, influences and ideological movements. Are you known for a particular approach to your designs?
Modernism. It takes quite a long time for an architect to get a body of work together before they can say they follow one thing or another. But I'm definitely considered a modernist. That's what people have come to expect.
Designs on Growth
Tampa's Cheikh Sylla is eyeing the big leagues.
Cheikh T. Sylla has no patience for professionals who say their careers are stuck in low gear. "You have to have vision, perseverance, a commitment to success," he says. Born in Senegal, Sylla did not speak a word of English when he immigrated to Milwaukee in 1978.
Today his Tampa-based architecture and engineering firm, Sylla Inc., is one of the region's most visible. Recent projects include the $30-million Middleton High School and restoration of the historic Central Español building, both in Tampa. He worked as a consultant to Florida A&M University, helping it select a site for its law school. In 1994, Sylla employed just four people, including himself and his wife. By 1997, the firm had grown to 33. Today, having eliminated the transportation planning and landscape architecture divisions, the firm is down to 22.
Sylla attributes the rapid growth to his decision to hire experienced professionals from the start. "It's a chicken-and-egg problem in this business," he says. "To get the big jobs, you need good people, but it's difficult to hire the good people without first having the big jobs." Having top architects and engineers on board, he insists, gave his young firm immediate credibility, allowing him to "leverage the experience" of his staff.
Sylla has relied on professional networking to help his firm grow. He recently completed a three-year stint on the greater Tampa chamber of commerce's executive committee. He is chairman of the Hillsborough County Workforce Board. And in January, he was elected president of the Tampa Bay chapter of the American Institute of Architects. "We've grown relatively fast," says Sylla, 46. "As long as you have ambition, the opportunities will be there."
