Abstract concept & vintage modern futuristic building facade with round windows and a palm tree. Photo: Nine_Tomorrows/Shutterstock.com
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Location: Hollywood
Architecture/Design Group: Steve Peck, Klai Juba Wald Architecture, Las Vegas; DCL, Boston; Float4, Montreal; Wilson Associates; Rockwell Group
About:
As part of a $1.5-billion expansion of the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino in Hollywood, The Guitar Hotel opened in November 2019. The guitar-shaped building was designed by Steve Peck of Klai Juba Wald Architecture, with engineering done by DeSimone Consulting Engineers along with Boston lighting designer DCL and Montreal digital player Float4. Hotel interiors were done by Wilson Associates and Rockwell Group.
The 638- room hotel reaches 450 feet into the sky with floor-to-ceiling glass panels. LED lights built into the hotel add a light show across the facade while six lasers project six guitar strings 20,000 feet upward. Also included is a 13.5- acre pool and lagoon with overwater cabanas, a new performance space and expanded gambling floor.
UF Health North
Location: Jacksonville
Architect/Design Team: Gresham, Smith and Partners, Nashville
About:
UF Health North was designed to reflect the salt marshes of the surrounding Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve. The building has a similar ribbon of oxbows across its facade. Phase one was completed in 2016. Phase two, a 92-bed full-service hospital, was completed in 2017.
Museum Garage
Location: Miami’s Design District
Architect/Design Group: Terence Riley of K/R, Miami
About:
This seven-story, 800-car garage (with space for ground-floor retail) is hidden by multiple exterior works of art. Architect Terence Riley commissioned exterior artwork from WORKac, J.Mayer.H, Clavel Arquitectos and Nicolas Buffe to add to his own firm’s designs. None knew what the others were planning or exactly where their piece would be placed in the garage. It fits in with developer Craig Robins’ (of DACRA) overall art-focused vision for the neighborhood, which also includes other high art garages.
22squared
Location: Tampa
Architect/Design Group: ASD | SKY, Tampa
About:
22squared turned to design firm ASD | SKY when they were looking to build their office space in downtown Tampa. The result is an open workspace featuring different work “neighborhoods” and plenty of colorful furniture and art. The redesign won a 2017 people’s choice award from AIA Tampa Bay, a chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Pool Room
Location: Anna Maria Island
Architect/Design Group: Halflants + Pichette Architects, Sarasota and Tampa
About:
Most homes hide the swimming pool in the back yard behind a fence and tall foliage, but this Anna Maria Island residence has a pool where anyone can see — elevated to the second floor and visible from the yard behind a sheet of 3-inch-thick Plexiglass.
Chris began his writing as a hobby while attending Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Today he and his wife live in the Orlando area with their three children and dog.
