FIU Landscape Architecture + Environmental and Urban Design Chair Roberto Rovira, Assistant Professor of Architecture Nick Gelpi, and Jim Drain (artist and 2005 Bâloise Art Prize recipient) have won first place in the DawnTown Wynwood Gateway Park competition with their design of “Wynwood Greenhouse Park.” Their design was selected from among 238 submissions from 23 countries. The inter-disciplinary team (Gelpi the architect, Rovira the landscape architect, and Drain the public artist) was the only one based in Miami.
The Wynwood Gateway Park competition sought the design of an urban park and garden in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. The following description is provided by Dawntown:
The competition was conceived by neighborhood visionary and Metro 1 President and CEO, Tony Cho, in partnership with DawnTown, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting architecture in Miami and AIA Miami, the local chapter of The American Institute of Architects, with the goal of creating a dynamic 14,000-square-foot space that offers the local community, visitors and tourists a place to come together and enjoy the neighborhood in a public environment. It is located at 2825 NW 2nd Avenue in Miami. (Source: http://dawntown.org/wynwood/)
The winning submission, “Wynwood Greenhouse Park,” was designed to serve as the intersection of art, architecture, and landscape for a local community with global presence, according to Rovira, Gelpi, and Drain. “We are truly honored to be selected from among such a prestigious group of competitors,” said the team. “We look forward to working with the city of Miami and Metro 1 to realize an ambitious vision that acknowledges the vibrancy of the Wynwood neighborhood and that emphasizes the unique natural wonders of south Florida. We hope that our park will be a place where people come together with nature and art in an urban environment, where everyone can feel at home and where people and nature thrive together.” (Source: Wynwood Greenhouse Park)
In second place in the competition was “Graffito Green” by Meyer + Silberberg – Land Architects from Berkeley, California, and in third place was “Wynwood Commons” by Solid Objectives – Idenburg Liu / SO-IL from Brooklyn, New York.
The winners of the competition were selected by an esteemed panel of expert judges that included:
Enrique Norten – Founding Principal, TEN Arquitectos
Terrance Riley – Principal, Keenan/Riley
Raymond Jungles, ASLA – FASLA, PLA, Founding Principal of Raymond Jungles, Inc.
Allan Shulman FAIA, Principal, Shulman + Associates
James Russell, FAIA, architecture critic and journalist
Andrew Frey – Development Manager, Codina Group
Tony Cho – CEO and Founder, Metro 1
Moderator: Joachim Perez, Executive Director of DawnTown
The featured images are provided courtesy of Wynwood Greenhouse Park.
Follow FIU Landscape Architecture + Environmental and Urban Design on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Follow FIU Architecture on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
