The C and The In-between
Florida International University’s Andrea Rodríguez has been recognized as the AIA Miami 2025 Student of the Year, celebrating her exceptional design talent and exploration of architecture’s role in mediating the spaces between. Her award-winning projects, The C and The In-between, emerged from two consecutive design studios that examined how architecture can navigate the boundaries between contrasting urban conditions.
The C explores the duality of Surfside’s urban edge, positioned between a bustling vehicular avenue and the serene openness of the beach. The project envisions architecture as a spatial threshold that negotiates between natural and built environments. Through the use of shifting planes and a stacked C-shaped form, Rodríguez creates layered visual corridors that alternately reveal and conceal the surrounding landscape. The resulting spatial experience is dynamic and immersive, defined by movement, light, and material depth that invite continual rediscovery.
Continuing this inquiry, The In-between situates itself within the vibrant fabric of Little Havana. Drawing inspiration from the neighborhood’s cultural and material vernacular, the project reinterprets local elements such as breeze blocks and shaded corridors to create a residential building centered on community engagement. By introducing a hierarchy of public, private, and shared “in-between” spaces, Rodríguez’s design encourages interaction among residents while revitalizing the 12th Street corridor.
Together, these projects reveal how architecture can operate as a mediator between solid and void, public and private, natural and urban, shaping spaces of connection that enrich the life and character of the city.
Through her work, Rodríguez embodies the values of FIU’s School of Architecture, where design is both an intellectual pursuit and a social responsibility. Her exploration of thresholds and in-between spaces reflects a deep understanding of how architecture can engage with its context to create meaningful urban experiences.
