South Miami Wood
South Miami Wood reimagines the city-owned parcels surrounding City Hall as a civic landscape designed for staying rather than passing through. Anchored by public institutions such as an expanded library and consolidated civic functions, the proposal replaces mobility-driven space with a pedestrian-centered network that prioritizes encounter, participation, and shared governance. Mass timber construction establishes wood as the primary structural and spatial language, grounding the civic core in a renewable material that supports both environmental performance and human scale. Building form, shaded public spaces, and a continuous ground plane organize a high-density mixed-use center where civic, cultural, and everyday activities overlap. With a majority of the site preserved as open public space, the project transforms underutilized municipal land into a porous civic commons that fosters collective presence and democratic life.
Arc 509 | Collab w. John Carlisle, Nicholas Amadori | Fall 2023
