Architects, designers and fairs have transformed the seaside city into a cultural hub year round, writes Elizabeth Fazzare
Miami Beach, Florida | ONE Sotheby’s International Realty
Miami Beach’s design heritage may be perennially visible in its abundance of seaside art deco architecture. However, as art and design aficionados flock to the city each December for Art Basel Miami Beach—of which Sotheby’s International Realty is a proud show partner—as well as the accompanying collectible design fair, Design Miami, it becomes obvious that the destination’s influence is global. Since the 1930s, when its glamorous art deco architecture bloomed, the city has been promoted as an ever-sunny retreat for the wealthy leisure class. With the help of contemporary movers and shakers, it is now a pilgrimage site for world-class art and design collectors and a home with year-round creative appeal.
The developer Craig Robins founded Design Miami in 2005, as a companion to the Art Basel fair. The experiment had staying power—now in its 20th edition, taking place December 3-8, Design Miami showcases some of the most exciting 20th and 21st-century furniture, lighting and design objects. Editions of the fair also now take place globally across the year, in Basel, Los Angeles and Paris, as well as Miami Beach. Curated by Glenn Adamson, this December’s Design Miami features 45 galleries presenting work from international designers, as well as special pop-ups, including a collaboration between design studio Formafantasma and champagne house Perrier-Jouët. Beyond these temporary exhibits, however, Design Miami is an opportunity to highlight the city’s permanent cultural flair.
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“Miami Beach is a historic hub of design and creativity,” says Jen Roberts, CEO of Design Miami. “Reflecting the spirit of the city, our Miami Beach fair has always maintained an open-minded and experimental outlook, embracing the historic and the contemporary simultaneously.” This includes an annual collaboration with Robins to install the work of an emerging designer both at Design Miami as well as in the Miami Design District, an evolving neighborhood Robins developed across the Biscayne Bay from the seaside city. The 2024 commission is a series of colorful beaded sculptures by Zimbabwe-born, Toronto-based designer Nicole Nomsa Moyo.
Earlier this year, when the Michelin Guide awarded its inaugural “Keys” to exceptional hotels around the world, seven in Miami Beach made the list: Esmé, Hotel Greystone, The Betsy South Beach, 1 Hotel South Beach, The Setai, Faena Hotel, and the Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club. Roberts also points to the increase in design destinations such as The Goodtime Hotel, designed by Ken Fulk and owned by musician Pharrell Williams and entrepreneur David Grutman.
Hospitality with such design name recognition is a draw for visitors and residents alike. Miami Beach-based real estate advisor for Sotheby’s International Realty, Lianne Graubart, has seen first-hand the kind of change it brings to the city. “The level of sophistication has evolved,” she says. “It’s no longer just a beach town. We have visitors from all over the world and some of the most exciting festivals and art exhibits.”
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Graubart’s two-bedroom condominium listing in the Eighty Seven Park tower on Collins Avenue, designed by acclaimed international architecture firm Renzo Piano Building Workshop, is an example of that evolving sophistication. Among Miami Beach’s art deco gems, newer buildings by “starchitects” (star architects) such as Piano, Jean Nouvel and OMA have ascended in the last decade, raising both the city’s design profile and its skyline. “As architects continue to push boundaries, design will follow—the two are mutually reinforcing,” assures Roberts. In the pipeline are projects by leading global architects including Kengo Kuma, Robert A.M. Stern and Peter Marino, as well as branded residences from luxurious hotels including the St. Regis and Waldorf Astoria, car companies such as Porsche and Bentley, and fashion houses Armani and Fendi.
For many of these luxury residences, terraces providing ocean views are a must. But often, so are expansive white walls, against which colorful design works, artworks and furnishings can be admired. Such a gallery-esque setting—seen in homes including this South Beach duplex, on the iconic Ocean Drive and featuring 25-feet-high ceilings—is all the more important in a city where the global art and design market comes to your doorstep each winter.
What makes the perfect home for an art and design collection? Find out here
