our
news

Art installation will include murals painted on shipping containersOctober 27, 2015 05:00PMBy Sean Stewart-MunizGoldman Properties is gearing up to open its newest art venue in time for Art Basel, right next to the Wynwood Doors.In August, Goldman paid $12 million to acquire the Wynwood Doors, an art installation adjacent to the Wynwood Walls at 2516 Northwest Second Avenue. Included in that sale were two connected properties, one of which is vacant land and the other a small industrial building.Now, the real estate company has announced plans to transform both properties into a new art space called the Wynwood Walls Garden, which will debut December 1 with pieces from six different artists. The industrial building’s walls will be used as more canvas space in the short term, with a restaurant or retail tenant planned in the future.“We’re addicted to art,” Jessica Goldman Srebnick, CEO of Goldman Properties, told The Real Deal. “It’s so important to incorporate interesting elements into real estate, and for us, art is something we’ve always incorporated into our projects over the course of the last 47 years.”Together, the two adjacent properties Goldman acquired total roughly 0.43 acres. The vacant land, at 260 Northwest 26th Street, is a small grassy lot that currently houses a handful of decorative boulders similar to the ones placed in the Wynwood Doors.For its transformation, Goldman plans to install four to five shipping containers stacked on top of each other with large murals painted on their sides. The company also hired PlusUrbia, a local design group, to completely alter the lot’s landscaping with deck space, along with concrete and sand areas.The unifying theme for the new space and the 14 murals in Goldman’s Art Basel program is “Walls of Change.” She said the idea is that art is a force of change, especially for a community.“There is nothing better that describes what’s happening in Wynwood,” she said.Pichi & Avo, a pair of Spanish artists that frequently juxtapose Greek Gods with graffiti, will create large murals on the closed containers.In addition, two other artists will paint the wall that separates the new space from the Wynwood Doors. Those artists are eL Seed, a French-Tunisian man whose works often incorporate Arabic calligraphy, and Hueman, a woman from California whose graffiti is abstract and psychedelic.Goldman will connect the Doors and the new space by punching a hole through that wall, which will split it into two equally sized canvases.As for the small industrial property at 266 Northwest 26th Street, Goldman Srebnick said the building’s walls will be used as a canvas for two artists: Case and Cryptik. She said the art will stay up even when a restaurant or retail tenant is eventually chosen.“It’s not just a private collection,” Goldman Srebnick said about the new installation. “This is something for the public.”News link: The Real Deal

Written by Catherine Lackner on August 4, 2015Residents and business people in East Little Havana, a historic neighborhood at the western edge of booming Brickell, are concerned about changes that are coming for two major streets that slice through the area.The Florida Department of Transportation in June completed a study of Southwest Seventh and Eighth streets from Southwest 27th to Brickell avenues. The department’s goals for the two streets are to improve traffic operations, safety and access to the Brickell area, to develop a pedestrian-friendly corridor and to promote a multi-modal transportation approach, said spokesperson Ivette Ruiz.“This dense urban corridor has seen significant growth in the past decade with high-density, high-rise developments and its operation is expected to be impacted with increased traffic volumes by several new major development projects currently proposed within the Brickell area,” Ms. Ruiz said via email.Residents and business people in East Little Havana, a historic neighborhood at the western edge of booming Brickell, are concerned about changes that are coming for two major streets that slice through the area.The Florida Department of Transportation in June completed a study of Southwest Seventh and Eighth streets from Southwest 27th to Brickell avenues. The department’s goals for the two streets are to improve traffic operations, safety and access to the Brickell area, to develop a pedestrian-friendly corridor and to promote a multi-modal transportation approach, said spokesperson Ivette Ruiz.“This dense urban corridor has seen significant growth in the past decade with high-density, high-rise developments and its operation is expected to be impacted with increased traffic volumes by several new major development projects currently proposed within the Brickell area,” Ms. Ruiz said via email.The next phase is the project development and environmental study, set to begin in the winter of 2016 and to take two to three years, she continued. “Then design, right-of-way acquisition and construction will follow.” Construction is expected to begin in spring 2017.Some neighbors are worried that the current one-way street design – which they say encourages drivers to speed and is not pedestrian-friendly – will remain. Theyare hopeful that a smaller, more human-scale design can take its place but fear the transportation department’s top priority is moving cars as efficiently as possible.“This is our one chance,” said Juan Mullerat, director of PlusUrbia, a design firm that recently completed a redevelopment plan for Wynwood that has gained wide acceptance. Mr. Mullerat and several of the firm’s principals live in East Little Havana. “When you live in an area, it becomes more than a way to get to downtown and Brickell. We know the car needs to stay, but we believe transportation means more than cars.”East Little Havana was once a thriving neighborhood with Southwest Eighth Street, or Calle Ocho, as its main street, he said. PlusUrbia, working pro bono, has designed a plan that Mr. Mullerat says will be safer and will restore that neighborhood feeling.Currently, there are three one-way driving lanes that are 11 feet wide, two 7.5-foot parking lanes, and two 9-foot sidewalks. PlusUrbia’s plan would replace them with two 10-foot driving lanes, heading east and west, an 11-foot transit lane, a 4-foot bike lane, and two 8.5-foot parking lanes. The sidewalks would stay the same width, at 9 feet.The firm has decided not to bid on the $2 million project, though two out-of-state potential bidders have asked PlusUrbia to join their teams. “Our function is to raise awareness,” Mr. Mullerat said, adding that staying independent from the project gives the firm more credibility in presenting its ideas.At a series of meetings the transportation department held to get public input, Mr. Mullerat said, the company’s plans fell on deaf ears.“The department only recently became aware of PlusUrbia’s plan,” Ms. Ruiz responded. “Specifically, their plan did not come up at the meetings.”Redesigning traffic so that the area recaptures its neighborhood ambiance “is one of the alternatives recommended for further study, but any change to the existing traffic pattern will require public and community acceptance,” Ms. Ruiz said. The department will continue to get input from the community and all interested parties throughout the project development and environmental study phase, she added.Adopting the principles set forth in his company’s plan, Mr. Mullerat said, might help alleviate a serious jaywalking problem that has historically plagued the two streets. Ms. Ruiz said the department will make a series of pedestrian improvements over the next two to three years. “This includes the addition of 10 new pedestrian crosswalks along Southwest Eighth Street between Southwest 27th and Brickell avenues.” But, Mr. Mullerat said, “I want to ask that guy with a cane jaywalking across Calle Ocho where he wants his crosswalks.”He is organizing a coalition of architects, planners, neighbors and business people to present ideas to the transportation department cohesively.“We have some of the best planners in the world in Miami,” said Mr. Mullerat, who co-chairs the Urban Design Committee of the American Institute of Architects’ Miami chapter. “We have real specialists who can tell us how this should flow, how this should function.”News link: Miami TodayRelated news links: Curbed, Local 10 News, Miami New Times, Next City, WLRN, SFBJ, Univision (Spanish)

Friday, July 24, 2015, by Sean McCaughanThe Big Wynwood Rezoning has happened, leading to a more dynamic, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use, and admittedly developer-friendly Wynwood (the old code was quite hostile to anybody trying to build condos), spearheaded by the Wynwood BID and designed by PlusUrbia. It was approved yesterday by a vote of 3-0 by the Miami City Commission. The Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalization District-1, the City of Miami's first NRD, is now officially a real thing. A little perplexed about what this means for Wynwood, Miami's art center? Well, here goes:1) Almost all of Wynwood is converted from 'Light Industrial' and 'Industrial' to 'General Commercial' with a lining of 'Light Industrial' in the blocks along I-95 and a chunk of 'Medium Density Residential' in the SW corner where Mana Wynwood is located.2) Financial incentives, including Transfer of Development Rights, are in place to preserve warehouses and incentivize development.3) Zoning along North Miami Avenue and 29th Street will allow development up to eight stories as-of-right, with an additional four stories in exchange for public benefits. The majority of the rest of the area allows building heights up to five stories with an additional three in exchange for public benefits.4) The new zoning does allow for development of new one-story buildings.5) The Wynwood Development Review Board gives local control to approve all large projects.6) The new zoning promotes affordable small studio apartments (less than 650 square feet) instead of large live-work spaces, with option to pay for a release from parking requirements at $12,000 a pop. This money would then go into the Wynwood Public Benefit Trust Fund and be used to pay for centralized parking.7) Requires ten foot minimum width sidewalks.8) Requires pedestrian paseos (cross-block walkways) for larger projects.9)Woonerfs!10) Solid, roll-up doors are banned.11) Centralized parking facilities, paid for by developers looking for reductions in parking requirements, will encourage pedestrian walkability.12) Increased housing density from 36 and 65 to a uniform 150 dwelling units per acre.13) Allows both pure residential or live/work uses, while today only live/work is allowed as-of-right.14) Incentivizes activated rooftop green spaces, and ground floors15) Developers can pay into the Wynwood Public Benefit Trust Fund, which pays for open space, for an additional 3 to 4 stories of height or increased lot coverage from 80% to 90%. The trust fund will be used only in Wynwood, for open spaces, public parks, civic spaces, and woonerfs.16) Facades on new developments will be required to either be wall art or glass.17) Wynwood-only use categories like art galleries and manufacturing-enabled retail will preserve the character of Wynwood. News link: CurbedRelated news links: Miami Herald, Miami Herald, Curbed, Curbed, Community Newspapers, Miami New Times, NL Times, Globe St., Globe St., The Real Deal, SFBJ, SFBJ, Bisnow,

Ibarra, 27 de julio de 2013. Luego de tres días de trabajo, especialistas de clase mundial en las áreas de planificación urbana, arquitectura, paisajismo y diseño urbano presentaron las conclusiones del taller denominado “Think Tank, Ciudad del Conocimiento YACHAY, estrategias futuras para el desarrollo”.Los expertos convocados trabajaron en un modelo de ciudad para acoger el desarrollo de ecosistemas de emprendimiento y creatividad, en un distrito de innovación moderno y de alta tecnología, pero con espacios urbanos derivados de un estudio profundo de 10.000 años de historia urbana.El Think Tank o Tanque de Pensamiento para YACHAY es una red de expertos nacionales e internacionales y un componente esencial de la “Revolución Urbana”, que define estrategias para el desarrollo de la Ciudad del Conocimiento que se construye en Urcuquí, provincia de Imbabura.El primer evento de este cuerpo colegiado reunió a expertos, profesionales y académicos que en mesas temáticas intercambiaron ideas e información sobre planes de construcción, gobernanza y sostenibilidad estructural, con un desarrollo basado en la comunidad, en la participación y en los ecosistemas urbanos.Los expertos coincidieron en que YACHAY debe ser una ciudad compacta, con espacios públicos de calidad y establecida en la evolución de las dinámicas locales, una ciudad donde el diseño urbano facilite el fortalecimiento de redes interconectadas como puntos de transferencia de conocimiento.Michael Mehaffy, experto internacional basado en Portland, autor de varias publicaciones, especialista en desarrollo urbano sostenible, con experiencia en proyectos de movilidad multimodal, desarrollo enfocado al tránsito y ciudades peatonales, felicitó al equipo técnico de la Empresa Pública YACHAY por las iniciativas aplicadas en la planificación desde inicios del proyecto.Héctor Rodríguez, Gerente General de la Empresa Pública YACHAY, destacó el éxito del taller que permitió reafirmar el compromiso para aplicar estrategias que permitan mantener el respecto de las preexistencias naturales y comunitarias, con la adaptación a la hidrología y topografía hacia un desarrollo no agresivo con el paisaje.“Es importante tener en cuenta la usabilidad de los espacios con el principio de uso mixto, con una segmentación inteligente. Una ciudad inteligente se construye con la adaptación tecnología, la forma urbana va cambiando y se va adaptando en este sentido”, enfatizó.De su parte, el ministro de Desarrollo Urbano y Vivienda, Pedro Jaramillo, resaltó la importancia del taller al obtener un trabajo de especialistas internacionales, que permitirán constituir a YACHAY en la ciudad icono para el Ecuador, donde se consolida la transformación de la matriz productiva.El evento concluyó con la entrega de propuestas y acuerdos para la construcción de YACHAY, en la que se deberán implementar políticas públicas que fomenten el crecimiento y desarrollo de ecosistemas creativos y de innovación tecnológica y social.Entre los principales acuerdos podemos mencionar los siguientes:Construcción de una ciudad inteligente basada en la articulación de tecnologías, fortalecimiento de redes urbanas y gestión individual y colectiva de la ciudadUrbanización progresiva basada en unidades urbanas autónomas (vecindarios) que crecen de manera incremental para poder funcionar desde el primer díaCrecimiento en densidad, complejidad e intensidad de actividades, y no expansivo ni agresivo con el suelo productivoDimensión espacial planificada desde el espacio público, conexiones peatonales y movilidad multimodalLa ciudad se piensa desde la experiencia del usuario caminando a 5 kilómetros por hora a nivel de piso, y no desde el escritorio del planificadorCiudad viva primero y ciudad del conocimiento después, para generar flexibilidad, adaptabilidadLa dimensión supraterritorial de tecnología, que no define la forma urbana sino que contribuye a la gestión (U-City)Suma de expertos y ciudadanos en la construcción del modelo de gestión en un proceso de reinvención continuaDiseño de espacios urbanos con participación ciudadana (Placemaking)Desarrollo futuro basado en la comunidad, en las dinámicas y ecosistemas que se van creandoCiudad compacta, a escala humana, conectada, caminable, con espacios públicos de calidad y basada en la evolución de las dinámicas localesPrioridad para el peatón en la pirámide invertida de movilidad multimodal, sin relegar deliberadamente ningún modo específicoEspacio urbano organizado con nodos interconectados que congregan mayor intensidad de actividades urbanas en un contexto de uso mixto y diversoEspacios públicos donde se promuevan los encuentros, el intercambio y el flujo de ideas e informaciónUrbanización con un lenguaje común, sin homogeneizar pero con propuestas compatibles que comparten el espacio urbano y ayudan a construir comunidades sólidas, con un imaginario urbano definido e identidadBajo el concepto de una ciudad sostenible, los planes de YACHAY se basan en la sostenibilidad integral a través de estrategias ambientales, económicas, urbanísticas y de desarrollo social, apoyada en la lógica de apropiación del espacio urbano que la ciudadanía construirá.Los expertos internacionales,  impresionados por el potencial de crecimiento y desarrollo para el Ecuador con la construcción de la Ciudad del Conocimiento Yachay, se comprometieron a ser los principales embajadores a nivel mundial de lo que consideran será el nuevo futuro para el Ecuador.Para ver la galería del evento visita:http://www.flickr.com/photos/yachay/sets/72157634799957881/

Portside Miami. (Courtesy PlusUrbia)Portside MiamiPortMiami launched a competition in 2011 commissioning plans for a new commercial district, dubbed the World Trade Center, and just recently revealed finalist PlusUrbia’s designs, which consists of a mix of infrastructure updates and major commercial and residential development. PlusUrbia’s plan includes new cruise-ship terminals and berths, and according to Curbed, skyscrapers, an expanded marina, hotels, retail, and luxury towers.http://blog.archpaper.com/2013/03/miamis-development-booming-top-11-starchitect-designs-remaking-the-magic-city/#.VikowH6rRD8