HYATT CENTRIC

July 28, 2017

HYATT CENTRIC

Miami Beach

Category: hospitality

Project Summary

This two-story apartment house on the west side of Collins Avenue was constructed in 1950 in Postwar Modern style by architect Gerard Pitt. It originally had 44 apartments and four hotel rooms, now designed as a 100 unit luxury Hyatt hotel. The historic building footprint is maintained as a rectangle set on the east-west axis, with an interior courtyard which the units face on all four sides along catwalks, typical of the Postwar style. KKAID is remodeling the historic building to include retail spaces, a restaurant, and a hotel glass tower that extrudes from the lower levels. The hotel tower acts as a datum that grounds the building to its Miami Beach roots while the façade windows that protrude out capture every unique view the city has to offer.

To maintain and emphasize the significance of the historical elements of 1600 Collins, the building’s notion of horizontal windows and the memory of the atrium were both well preserved. The horizontal components of the historical architecture inspire the tower’s framing and sequencing. Exaggerated horizontal framing creates long niches that push and pull the façade windows to resemble the original language of the building. The interiors uphold the historical courtyard that was once there with an interior atrium that encloses the entrance of the building.