The neighborhood of Miami is dedicated to architecture, design, and fashion
There is a place in Miami where art is at the top of its game. It is the Miami Design District, a neighborhood located just north of I-95 and Midtown Miami, Florida.
The origin of the Miami Design District
The Moore Furniture Building, once the only building in the area that used to be a pineapple farm and one of the first stores in the United States devoted exclusively to furniture, is now the most historic site in the Miami Design District, where 18 square-shaped blocks of abandoned warehouses in the Buenavista neighborhood have been transformed into an art stage.
The district is the brainchild of developer and philanthropist Craig Robins, who saw those 18 square-shaped blocks of wasteland and warehouses as a blank canvas to bring his extremely ambitious artistic and business project called the Miami Design District to life.
In a long process of redevelopment and transformation over the past decades, the area’s former warehouses have been repurposed into more than 130 edgy art galleries, fine dining restaurants, amazing showrooms, design and architecture studios, and fine boutiques of the most famous fashion houses, turning the Miami Design District into the beating heart of art and culture in Miami and a hub for the global world of creativity and innovation. Today, the Miami Design District is one of the most brilliant centers for art, culture, fashion, and design in the world.
What not to miss at the Miami Design District
The Moore Building
The Moore Building was built way back in 1921 as a Moore and Sons furniture store. Today, the four-story building is the ideal place for events of all kinds, from fashion catwalks to art show presentations. It is the heart of the Miami Design District and the most historic place in this neighborhood of Miami. Nonetheless, the Moore Building was successfully integrated with the gradual transformation of this part of the city of Miami, maintaining its historic appearance while presenting a whole new look with Elastika, an installation commissioned by Craig Robins and created by internationally renowned Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid. Elastika is a structure that complements the historic structure of the Moore Building while contradicting it at the same time, presenting it to the public with new elements that convey a thoroughly modern and even futuristic appearance. So, the Moore Building besides being the place to hold events and exhibitions in Miami is also a location in which to enjoy a unique aesthetic in its natural solitude.
Swampspace
Launched in 2005 by artist and designer Oliver Sanchez, Swampspace is a contemporary art exhibition venue that offers a unique experience for art lovers in this district of Miami. With its amazing collection of innovative visual arts and performances by various artists from all over the world, Swampspace captures the viewer’s attention and surprises with its art that is rich in meaning, singular, and never mundane even in its simplicity.
Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami
The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) is a newly built museum (opened in 2017) entirely dedicated to promoting continuous experimentation in contemporary art and the exchange of art and ideas locally and internationally. Through a busy calendar of events, exhibitions, and programs, ICA Miami fosters a very important network for the work of emerging artists from around the planet and even acts as an inspirational muse in its own right.
De La Cruz Collection Contemporary Art Space
This 30,000-square-foot museum opened in 2009 and was designed by John Marquette to exhibit the artwork of Cuban collector Carlos de la Cruz and his wife Rosa. The couple spent over 30 years spent collecting works of particular artistic worth and chose to share their passion with a wider audience, opening their own personal museum in the Miami Design District. A three-story building houses works by world-renowned and emerging artists, creating an artistic exchange between different communities.
The best luxury boutiques
Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Fendi, Cartier, and Céline: the Miami Design District is the byword for glamor and luxury. This trendy Miami neighborhood offers the chance to experience luxury shopping in a unique artistic setting. The boutiques of each fashion house were designed and built by internationally renowned archistars, who sought to infuse the structures with the true soul and spirit of each fashion label. The result is many unique spaces capable of equally special experiences to give high-end shopping a connotation that goes beyond the simplistic meaning of shopping for its own sake.
Art and life merge into one concept, one perspective in the Miami Design District. The incredible artistic and creative character that permeates this part of the city of Miami has no limits. In the area between North 36th St., North 43rd Street, West First Avenue, and Biscayne Boulevard, everything is infused with art. Storefronts are curated to the finest detail by the world’s most renowned artists and architects. Art is found on street corners and sidewalks and in the parks and courtyards of the Miami Design District (where you stop for a rest on incredible works, such as Kostatin Grcic’s swings, for instance). Even the more mundane details, such as lampposts and parking lots, are artistic.
The Miami Garage Museum is perhaps the finest example of this approach. Its incredible structure is a one-of-a-kind work of art in addition to being a garage for visitors to the district.
The concept of art is endlessly repeated in the Miami Design District and echoed in each of its areas with details that never go unnoticed. The curious eyes of tourists and Miami residents are drawn to details created to stimulate the mind and thinking toward an increasingly open and avant-garde perspective, offering an experience that is inclusive and exclusive at the same time.
