Competition

Natural Talent Design Competition

Design a LEED Platinum building for an urban site in downtown Miami. The project will consist of a high-rise tower on an existing site at the mouth of the Miami River. The program includes a mix of residential and commercial spaces and will force students to address the current concerns and real-world problems in the design of green buildings in an urban setting located in a hot and humid climate. The site is also considered an active archaeological site and respect must be given to the Miami Circle. The student may incorporate the Miami Circle in a creative way into their design, however no structure may rest on the actual Miami Circle.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) South Florida Chapter concluded its first annual design competition at the University of Miami School of Architecture in November 2006. Because of the tremendous quality of all entries and consistent attention to a variety of sustainable systems and strategies, the judges felt strongly that there needed to be a two-way tie for second place. Monetary prizes of $1,000 (first place) and $500 (second place) were offered to the winning entries.

First Place :: “Circle Green”

Submitted by the three-person team: Ben McGuirl, University of Florida Class of 2004, Erica Nelles, University of Florida Class of 2005, Daniel Silverman, University of Virginia Class of 2006.

Jury comments highlighted the comprehensive approach to sustainability described in the project narrative which addressed the building's relationship to its region, to its neighborhood, and to its site as well as engaging the site's history and its future. The jury also commended the approach to site design which actively engaged the Miami Circle at the pedestrian scale and from a variety of other vantage points created within the building's form.

Second Place :: “Elliptical Tower”

Submitted by Matthew Oravec, University of Miami Class of 2011.

Jury comments highlighted the depth of research supporting the technologies proposed, the credibility of the development program and the building's compelling form and impact on the skyline.

Second Place :: “Metamorphosis”

Submitted by the two-person team Mark Schrieber, University of Miami School of Architecture Class of 2008, Derek Sommers, University of Miami School of Architecture Class of 2008.

Jury comments highlighted the poetic daring of this hand-drawn entry, the literacy of the project narrative, the inventiveness of the technologies proposed especially the notion of harvesting energy from Miami's humid air and the careful attention to the development of a pedestrian experience of the Miami Circle.

Jurors

The 2006 expert panel of judges consisted of Distinguished Juror Susan Szenasy, Editor-in-Chief of Metropolis Magazine, Maurizio Ortiz of Turner Construction, Kricket Snow, Vice-President of AIA Miami, Professor Frank Martinez of the University of Miami as well as Carolyn Mitchell, President of the USGBC South Florida Chapter.