While I appreciate the concept of the tower in the park, the reality of many modernist urban developments can be quite dismal. And while I agree with the principles of the New Urbanism, I feel that many New Urbanists are too hung up on the "white picket fence" trappings of traditional style.
But even Andres Duany provides a retort to this perception, and has designed a project that (at least partially) proves it. "Aqua breaks the mold of what many people perceive TND to be, but that’s a misconception. New Urbanism is not style-based. Aqua makes that clear."
Aqua is mid-sized infill project (8.5 acres) on Allison Island in Miami Beach. It is the site of a former hospital and the project reuses an existing parking garage/office building.
Orginally posted 1/17/2005
New article: Slatin Report - Chilly Design, Hot Aqua
Link: Aqua | Allison Island - hehe... aqua.net ;-)
Article: The Next American City - New Urban Meets Modern in South Florida
Article: HousingZone.com - Andres Duany & Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk: Home/Work (2002)
Firm: Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company
Via: Planetizen
Unfortunately, a gated entrance cuts off the development from the rest of the city, and the plan does not embody all of the tenets of the New Urbanism. But even with it's imperfections it certainly is an interesting project that melds the modern tradition of Miami with traditional American urban space.
The building were designed by a number of different architects including Walter Chatham, Alison Spear, Alexander Gorlin, Hariri & Hariri and Duany Plater-Zyberk.
The Aqua plan brings a new kind of living environment to the high-rise-laden beach. Taking a cue from nearby South Beach, its modernist buildings are organized into a traditional urbanist structure, creating a place that has the vibrancy of a city but the intimacy of a village. The design encourages pedestrian activity by providing tree-lined streets that divide the neighborhood into small blocks and by ensuring that the beach homes and apartment buildings equally engage the street.
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