Japan-based Kengo Kuma and Associates has unveiled the design for what will become the firm’s first residential tower in the United States. The 18-story building, facing Miami Beach, will house private residences for Aman, a Swiss-headquartered hospitality company with outposts all over the world.
Aman Miami Beach Residences will occupy the site at 3425 Collins Avenue, a prominent location in the city’s Faena neighborhood. It will comprise two buildings within the site, the hotel will take over the 1940s art deco Versailles building—under restoration by architect Jean-Michel Gathy of Denniston—and Kengo Kuma will design the adjacent structure, which will house 22 fully serviced private residences.
This is not Kengo Kuma’s first collaboration with the hospitality brand, they previously partnered up on the Amanpuri Retail Pavilion, a concept store in Thailand, completed in 2020.
Similar to the design of its neighbor, the residential building will feature terraces and full-height windows, oriented to take in the beachfront views. Its curved shape will take cues from the rounded art deco forms found on the Versailles and other Miami Beach designs.
A number of Japanese-inspired elements have been integrated into the design; these include the practice of wabi-sabi or design imperfection, and the materiality, which pairs glass with light toned wood.
A timber canopy, wrapping around the atrium lobby, is formed by a series of wood lattice works that mimic the pattern of tree branches. Similarly, wooden louvres planted on the facade span the structure from bottom to top, the artfully-designed panels double as decorative elements and shading devices. The building stands on a series of columns formed by wooden slats, this design completely opens the ground floor to provide uninterrupted views straight through to the beach.
Aman plans to open the building in 2024. A number of other international architects have recently announced plans to design tower buildings in Miami including Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza, who recently unveiled his design for a square commercial building with wraparound terraces in Miami Beach, and hometown firm Arquitectonica announced its plans for a forthcoming office “supertower” downtown.
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