Taking Shape
Two of the world’s most influential architects discuss their current projects and contrasting styles.
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ShareAugust 1, 2008
THE MODERNIST:Miami-based 37-year-old Chad Oppenheim, architect of some of the city’s most eye-catching high-rises, reveals plans for developments from Dubai to the Caribbean.
What have you been working on outside of Miami?
I’m working all over the world right now. In the Middle East, I’m working with
Emaar Properties, the largest developer in the region, on a super-luxury
residential hotel tower next to the Burj Dubai—the tallest building in the
world. It is the immediate neighbor of the Burj and will serve as the gateway to
the forthcoming Burj Dubai Boulevard, set to become the greatest boulevard on
Earth. While it will be the tallest building we’ve ever worked on, at 1,100
feet, it is dwarfed by the skyscrapping Burj at more than 2,600 feet. We also
are working on a super-luxury residential project at Dubai Maritime City and a
residential resort project in Nakheel’s the World.
I’m doing a few luxury eco-resort developments in Greece, Turks and Caicos, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil—all of which are on incredibly dramatic sites. Stateside, I’m doing eco-luxury hotels for visionary hotelier Barry Sternlicht’s sustainable 1Hotel brand in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, as well as the Delano and Mondrian hotels in Las Vegas for Morgans Hotel Group. And we are having fun with some private residences in Caracas, Harbour Island, Aspen, Miami, and Mustique. We usually have between 10 and 15 active projects, all on different scales, going on at once.
How are projects in a place like Dubai different from those in
the United States?
Dubai is actually a lot like Miami. It shares the same climate for eight months of the
year, and, as a coastal city, its interaction with water is very similar. Also,
like Miami, it is always looking for the next great, big idea. Both places are
about selling the dream lifestyle.
The biggest difference is the scale of the development. Miami had probably one of the biggest booms in the United States, but what has been going on there is nominal compared with what is happening in Dubai and Abu Dhabi—maybe 1 percent or .1 percent. We are infilling a city in Miami, while, over there, it is at the scale of a country condensed in time and space. However, they never lose sight of the quality. The developers are able to turn out a higher-quality product because the craftsmanship is so good and the labor is cheaper than it is in the United States. I like working with the materials there. There are so many great kinds of stone, such as sandstone from India and onyx from Pakistan, and it’s so economical to use them. Plus, since you don’t have to worry about hurricanes, you can do more things with glass.
They have the desire to do something more emotional than rational over there, which is very interesting for me, since, as an architect, I’m always trying to balance the two. Here you have to maybe hold back a bit, but in Dubai, the model is "If you build it, they will come." Projects like the World and the Burj Dubai are perfect examples of that.
What is the real estate climate like in Miami right now?
Miami is fundamentally strong, even though
it’s going to be a rough road for a bit. The desire to live there hasn’t
disappeared; there’s just been an overexuberance of people trying to make a
quick dollar in the development game. Projects at the lower and mid-level might
suffer, but the super high–end developments are bulletproof. The one-of-a-kind
properties—such as my project Ten Museum Park, which just finished downtown—are
still selling for mega-dollars. In the past five years, especially because of
things like Art Basel, Miami has become more and more important as an artistic
and international city. It’s still one of the best places in the world to
live.
With a project like Dellis Cay [a private island in Turks and Caicos designed by some of the world’s leading architects] how do you make a statement without going over the top?
I was the last one to come aboard that project, where each designer is creating a different component—hotel, spa, and various kinds of residences—of the property. It was such an honor to be included with people like Zaha Hadid, David Chipperfield, Shigeru Ban, Kengo Kuma, Carl Ettensperger, and Piero Lissoni, who are some of my architectural heroes.
It can definitely be daunting to think about creating something next to their work. However, my firm felt that since our site was more inland, and the other designers are mostly doing waterfront buildings, we could capitalize on being in the middle of a nature preserve. So we are designing treetop villas that are elevated 25 feet off the ground. They float above the trees and look out over the island. An infinity-edge pool on the roof allows you to connect with a heightened sense of place. Essentially, our concept is a horizontal glass box. We thought a lot about how the sun and moon pass over the site and where the breezes come from in order to capture those moments within our architecture.
In a location like Turks and Caicos, it’s important to emphasize the experience over form. For my firm, architecture is about reducing a structure down to what’s essential. Our structures are modern, but they’re timeless because they’re based on notions of pleasure that are constant. Watching the sunset, observing the moon sparkle on the water, listening to the sounds of falling water, feeling a breeze pass over you—a building that incorporates all of those experiences will always be in style.
How is architecture today different from 10 years ago?
It’s become more mainstream, and there is a genuine desire
to live in a well-designed environment. Architects are treated like celebrities
now, and they can often change the dynamic of the place they are working on.
Design has become such an important component of what sells a project. And, most
importantly, developers and buyers are considerate of green design.
Oppenheim Architecture + Design, 305.576.8404,
www.oppenoffice.com
