Zaha Hadid Architects, the firm behind the One Thousand Museum skyscraper in downtown Miami, has been chosen to design a new luxury condo building on the site. The firm, headed by the Pritzker Prize-winning Hadid until she died in 2016, unveiled two nearly identical versions of its proposed design, featuring the sleek, curvilinear lines the globally famous "starchitect" was known for.
DAMAC International, a Dubai-based developer that purchased the site in 2022, submitted an application for planning approval to the Town of Surfside on June 12. Both versions of the new building will feature 57 residences across two tower blocks, less than half of the 136 in the original tower. One version sets back the curving, ocean wave-inspired balconies on the building's south side, making it appear stepped, while the other is more conventional, giving equal space to each floor. A glass-walled rooftop swimming pool would bridge the two blocks, and the building would also include a second indoor pool and spaces for business and community activities. The Miami Herald estimated each residence would be listed for more than $1 million.
Another version of the proposed luxury condo replacement for the collapsed Surfside towers
Zaha Hadid Architects
Luxury condos are, of course, nothing new in Miami. The city is lousy with splashy modern apartment buildings designed by famous architects like Renzo Piano and Bjarke Ingels, many designed to take advantage of the same valuable oceanfront real estate of the type found in Surfside. One Thousand Museum may be the most prominent example; it was the last building Hadid designed, who died in Miami during its construction, that she personally oversaw.
But building one on this site, in particular, is another question entirely.
Although land subsidence was thought to be a possible reason for the collapse, and saltwater seeping into building foundations continues to be a concern, investigations have ruled out the site's geology as a reason for the tragedy. New findings released this week by the National Institute of Standards and Technology instead found "severe strength deficiency" in the Champlain Tower South's pool deck, with one investigator saying the building failed to meet codes at the time of its construction.
Still, Surfside residents and families of the victims have expressed dismay that the site is already being built upon. At a recent town planning commission meeting, calls for a memorial on the site intensified from the victim's families, with one saying, "We need to show the world we don't build over dead people." Officials at the meeting said a memorial would be erected on 88th Street.
The Herald also noted that no local developers bid on the site. DAMAC, owned by Emirati billionaire Hussein Sawjani, was the sole bidder, paying $120 million for the lot. The new residences will be marketed under the Cavalli brand, also owned by Sawjani. If approved, construction on the new condo would likely not commence until at least the end of 2023.
The Champlain Towers collapse led to investigations and occasional evacuation of other buildings erected in Miami-Dade around the same time, including the Crestview Towers in North Miami Beach and the Port Royale condo in Miami Beach, which is just down the street from the Champlain site along Collins Avenue. Almost a year after the collapse, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law requiring stricter inspections for condo towers.
