11 June 20-26, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | Culture | Cafe | MusiC | miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | Box ’Em Up! Can tropical brutalism be built to last? BY ERIKA THOMAS T hough there’s been a design pivot to incorporate more indoor and outdoor living and more washed and stylistic use of concrete in recent years, tropical brutalism isn’t new. It’s a design style that’s built to last, withstand extreme weather, and coexist with the landscape. Miami has plenty of classic brutalist buildings, typically found as govern- ment outposts and across the campuses of the University of Miami and Miami Dade Col- lege, along with more recent tropical brutalist buildings like Pérez Art Museum Miami and the penthouse at the 1111 garage. Even Miami’s favorite modernist icon, Mor- ris Lapidus, dabbled in tropical brutalism, which is best demonstrated in his 1969 design for the South Shore Community Center on Mi- ami Beach, a building at the center of a hot de- bate about preservation over the past few years. In fact, Lapidus experimented with tropical brutalism to change his reputation from the modernist bourgeois of the Fontainebleau Mi- ami Beach, leaning into brutalist principles to deliver a design that supported the social pat- terns of its users — senior citizens who needed function and practicality over or- nate details that at- tracted Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack to congregate. Unsurprisingly, Lapidus was onto something, but he wasn’t the only designer who saw the vision of con- crete in Miami’s hot and humid climes. A year prior, Cuban immigrant Hilario Candela erected the famed Miami Marine Stadium, which has been a prime subject of restoration and preservation in recent years. Concrete testing, surveying, matching, and restoration have been a massive component of this un- dertaking, along with the removal of 200 coats of spray paint. In its essence, brutalism has a narrative ca- pability. It’s exciting in its austerity, a blank can- vas to be personalized. It has a present, a past, and a future, regardless of how old or new it is. Speaking at the recently held Docomomo U.S. National Symposium in Miami, Brazilian archi- tect Carlos Eduardo Comas points out that as vegetation grows around brutalist buildings, it’s also a dystopian image indicating how quickly nature can reclaim the built environment. He also added that tropical brutalism can be many things, “barbaric, civilized, clean, bare, lively, industrial, form over function...or both.” Dystopian anecdotes aside, tropical bru- talism has inherent benefits that make it ideal for Miami: Natural Ventilation While many buildings in Miami are forced to crank air conditioning to combat record-high temperatures, tropical brutalism designs maximize airflow and cross breeze, which can significantly lower temperatures, literally by design. The free-flowing wind on the event level of 1111 is a quintessential example of this. Shade Contribution So many high-rises, so little shade. While surrounding landscaping and vegetation can take time to grow in, one immediate benefit of tropical-brutalism-style overhangs is the boost in shade. When the overhangs extend over balconies, courtyards, and other indoor/ outdoor living spaces, the impact is significant as they minimize sun and radiation exposure. Sustainable Adaptations While brutalism, in essence, isn’t sustainable — it takes a lot of water and sand to create it, and concrete can damage topsoil while in- creasing carbon dioxide — it lends itself as a blank canvas to sustainable additions. For ex- ample, solar panels are an easy fit on flat bru- talist roofs, rainwater collection devices can be easily integrated, and vegetation preserva- tion that sits as a juxtaposition alongside con- crete builds nicely on tropical brutalism foundations. However, the maintenance of concrete is critical. For many, concrete has been seen as a “forever” material, but as South Florida tragi- cally learned in 2021, even forever materials cannot last without maintenance and proper formulation. Concrete structures on the wa- terfront — or, in the Marine Stadium’s case, in the water — are susceptible to degradation over the years from the elements, namely wind, soil, and salt. For this reason, concrete should be periodically assessed and tested for safety. When effectively maintained, concrete can stand the test of time. In fact, we have examples to look to for tropical brutalism done right. Veronica Cas- tillo, an architect from Puerto Rico, shared a case study at the Docomomo U.S. National Symposium in Miami on two structures that have lasted for decades on the island. Built in 1963, the Santa Monica condo tower’s design is straight out of the tropical brutalism text- book, with generous overhangs, natural ven- tilation, efficiency in space, exposed concrete, and local materials. Oh, and it has withstood four Category 5 hurricanes and remains a tes- tament to the durability of concrete when maintained. Second, Castillo shared the Car- melite Convent, built in 1969, that meets the same criteria, except the austere structure is flanked by lush greenery that has flourished over the decades under the careful care of its resident nuns. The nuns added solar panels, too. Looking into the future, Miami has al- ready invested much of its land in concrete, and destroying concrete structures poses an- other set of environmental problems. Adapt- ing buildings for reuse, like the often-mentioned 1111 garage, which was built on the existing SunTrust Bank foundation, is a way to minimize environmental impacts, retrofit and bring efficiency to aged buildings, and extend the lifeline of structures in Miami and beyond. [email protected] ▼ Culture The Miami Marine Stadium employs all the classic features of brutalism. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images IT’S EXCITING IN ITS AUSTERITY, A BLANK CANVAS TO BE PERSONALIZED. Ndo you LIKE what you see? CHECK US OUT FOR UPCOMING PARTIES AND EVENTS! facebook.com/miaminewtimes
