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Faena Arts District
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The Faena Arts District in Miami Beach brings together three structurally distinct buildings—the Faena Forum, Faena Bazaar, and Faena Park—across a single urban block, unified through coordinated engineering and bold architectural expression.
| Client | Faena Properties |
|---|---|
| Architects: | OMA, Foster + Partners, and Revuelta Architecture International |
| Size | 200,000 SF (18,580 SM) |
| Sustainability | LEED Certified residences |
| Office: | Miami |
| Completion: | 2016 |
The Faena Forum, by OMA, features a cylindrical performance hall cantilevered from a rectilinear volume. DeSimone engineered the building’s cast-in-place concrete arches and slab-edge framing to support the sculptural overhang without interior columns. A finite-element sequencing model determined how much of the cube had to be built and cured to safely anchor the cantilever before its shoring was removed.
At the Faena Bazaar, we worked with Foster + Partners to reinforce the historic Atlantic Beach Hotel. Original slabs and framing were upgraded to accommodate retail loads, while preserving the 1930s façade and entry sequence.
Faena Park, designed by Revuelta Architecture, includes a 235-car garage and a feat of urban engineering: the first project in Miami Beach to permanently elevate a public street within its original footprint. To construct a 22-foot-deep basement just three feet above the water table, we devised a phased excavation using steel sheet piles and a watertight slab system. The original street was temporarily removed, then structurally recast at a higher elevation—preserving urban access while resisting groundwater pressure.
This coordinated effort delivered complex architecture, deep excavation, and preservation within a single structural narrative.
