Conceived to contribute to celebrating the 500th anniversary of Ponce de León’s arrival on Florida’s east coast, the Pelican Tower is designed as a visually powerful landmark that will stand out in the Miami skyline—now dominated entirely by modern skyscrapers— giving it an individual identity and setting it apart among other urban landscapes. It will act, too, as a welcoming architectural highlight seen from the cruisers arriving in the nearby harbour, representing a conceptual bridge of sorts between the bay and the surrounding urban area of Miami Downtown thru the historic Bayfront Park. Indeed, the tower emerges from the water of the bay symbolizing the close relationship that Miami has with the sea, and connects, at a minor scale, with the Bayfront Park by means of a building—the La Florida Pavilion—, advance of the Downtown, that “floats” over the park, thus preserving it entirely. For reasons of coherence and respect for the existing environment, the new landmark is designed to coexist harmoniously with the park—the most ambitious project of the renowned artist and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi—, not to replace it.
South view
© Gonzalo Gómez Mataix . Published on May 14, 2013.
The Tower, whose design has nautical reminiscences, has an observation deck at 647 feet (197 m) over the park (only 110 feet—33 m—underneath the nearby “South East Financial Center”) with stunning views of Downtown, Biscayne Bay and Miami Beach. Visitors will pay an entrance fee to partially fund the investment. They will reach the wind-shaped observation deck—which is aligned with the predominant wind direction (ESE) to minimize structural efforts—by means of two high-speed elevators. The Tower has a total height of 827 feet (252 m) —thus becoming the new ceiling of Miami—including the mast at the top, where telecommunication aerial facilities are envisaged.
The tower seen from the bay
© Gonzalo Gómez Mataix . Published on May 14, 2013.
The La Florida Pavilion, a curved building surrounded by balconies, large wall-curtains and featuring a rooftop terrace with pleasant vistas of the park and the bay, is supported by a massive concrete wall and a secondary tower, 389 feet high, connected to the main one whose functions are to strengthen it against strong winds and to accommodate the main gate to the complex. The Pavilion has an area of 24,000 square feet (2,230 m2), and would serve as visitor entrance hall to the Tower, featuring a gift shop and a restaurant, as standing annex to the Miami City Hall for official meetings and receptions, and as a small convention center, with conference rooms available for private receptions, corporate events and press conferences.
The tower by night
© Gonzalo Gómez Mataix . Published on May 14, 2013.
The new landmark, with traces of art-déco—a style frequently used in the city in the past—, is located in the east side of the Bayfront Park. As said above, because of the elevated emplacement of the Pavilion and the aquatic foundation of the Tower, the site occupies a minimal portion of the park southward the Mildred and Claude Pepper Fountain. The Tower will respect the integrity of the existing walks and gardens in this area and in the park as a whole, including the facilities and sculptures, as they were conceived by Isamu Noguchi in the regeneration project of the 1980’s. Particularly, the relation between the landmark and the Mildred and Claude Pepper Fountain has been considered with particular care. The new building partially envelopes the large round plaza and the monumental fountain. This project will thereby significantly enhance this area and will transform it into an important civic space for the city. Conversely, the importance given by the Noguchi’s plan to the Fountain as a visual and walk focus—the original purpose of this fountain, namely, to simulate a fragment of the ocean, should be restored—will serve to emphasize the approach to the new landmark, as well as the vision of the Tower.
The La Florida Pavilion
© Gonzalo Gómez Mataix . Published on May 14, 2013.
The Noguchi fountain round square
© Gonzalo Gómez Mataix . Published on May 14, 2013.
Aerial view of the Bayfront Park
© Gonzalo Gómez Mataix . Published on May 14, 2013.