Architecture · Miami
Arquitectonica
The Coconut Grove firm whose colorful towers helped define the Miami skyline.
Featured in Top 10 Architecture Firms in Miami, FL
About
Bernardo Fort-Brescia and Laurinda Spear started Arquitectonica in Miami in 1977 with three fellow founders, and the two lead the firm as principals. The firm keeps its headquarters in Coconut Grove and has projects in more than 60 countries on five continents.
Arquitectonica drew attention from its first years with bold color and geometry. Fort-Brescia and Spear built the practice around a humanistic modern design that uses materials and pattern in bold ways. Its Atlantis condominium on Brickell Avenue, which the firm completed in 1982, has a five-story sky court with a red spiral staircase and a palm tree. The building appeared in the opening credits of Miami Vice.
The firm's teams handle architecture and interiors, and it offers landscape architecture and planning under the same name. Spear, a founding principal, started the firm's push into green design. If you drive Brickell Avenue, you can see the Atlantis for yourself and judge four decades of the firm's influence on the Miami skyline.
Specialties
Notable projects
- The Atlantis, Brickell Avenue1982
- Projects in more than 60 countries
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