Parking Lot Pimpin’

You might have noticed that building next to the Carnival Center – the one that used to be a nondescript parking garage, which has recently morphed into a psychedelic box buzzing with activity, and not of the automotive kind. The paint job is by Lebo, and the change is courtesy of Casa Décor, an innovative design project that hijacks abandoned landmarks, municipal buildings, churches, and castles and turns them into glorious show houses that demonstrate how decorators, architects, and interior designers overcome design challenges.

This year, in true Miami fashion, the minds at Casa Décor have decided not to keep the artistry indoors. They’ve enlisted the skills of Jefrë Figueras Manuel, emerging designer of environmental art and couture landscapes, to create a garden combining marketing genius (it’s called the Lexus Hybrid Living Sculpture Garden) with the beauty of natural materials, taking “landscaping” to the next level. “[With] landscaping, you could just get anyone to go and shrub up buildings. Everything I do has a reason and a purpose,” says Jefrë. “That’s why I was a little hesitant when they told me it was Lexus. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do a garden for a car. But when they told me they were doing the hybrid model, I was much more interested.” Check out Jefrë’s exteriors and all the fabulous interiors from November 8 through December 16 at the Casa Décor exhibition site.
Nov. 8-Dec. 16, 2007