Edited with text by Charlotte von Moos. Text by Max Creasy, Kersten Geers, Niels Olsen.
A loving excavation of Miami’s colorful but neglected architectural style of the 1980s
This publication celebrates a lost vision of Miami: the architectural golden age it enjoyed in the 1980s, when the subtropical city experienced a profound synergy between art and architecture. In these years, Miami’s architects partook of the discipline’s international discourse, pushing back against the utilitarian International Style with a playful yet innovative sensibility. Firms like Arquitectonica, an experimental studio founded in 1977, introduced thoroughly modern buildings typified by abstract designs in bold colors and graphics. Unfortunately, the contributions of these firms are often overlooked, and the era’s ethos of artistic inquiry has lapsed into a crude commercialism. The 2018 case of the Babylon, a building developed by Arquitectonica that was demolished only two years after its designation as a protected landmark, served as the impetus for Miami-based architectural historian and architect Charlotte von Moos’ research. Dismayed at the negligence shown toward such remarkable projects, she assembled this authoritative guide, compiling a group of essays and a photo series that delineate the treasures, built and unbuilt, of Miami’s 1980s architecture.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
New York Times
Eve Kahn
Focuses on memorable but disposable postmodern buildings that were commissioned by newly minted millionaires. The architect and researcher Charlotte von Moos led a contributor team exploring homes, offices, transit hubs and civic gathering places with nautical white railings, magenta and yellow facades, and sawtooth profiles.
The Architect's Newspapaer
Jack Murphy
The book’s vivid graphics emulate the showy quality of the buildings it examines...a bold, preservation-minded plea with rich archival images, illustrations, floor plans, and historical text.
FORMAT: Hbk, 8.25 x 10.75 in. / 184 pgs / 137 color / 40 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $59.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $84 ISBN: 9783753301105 PUBLISHER: Walther König, Köln AVAILABLE: 7/5/2022 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: FLAT40 PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of stock indefinitely AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: NA LA ASIA AU/NZ AFR
In Miami in the 1980s The Vanishing Architecture of a “Paradise Lost“
Published by Walther König, Köln. Edited with text by Charlotte von Moos. Text by Max Creasy, Kersten Geers, Niels Olsen.
A loving excavation of Miami’s colorful but neglected architectural style of the 1980s
This publication celebrates a lost vision of Miami: the architectural golden age it enjoyed in the 1980s, when the subtropical city experienced a profound synergy between art and architecture. In these years, Miami’s architects partook of the discipline’s international discourse, pushing back against the utilitarian International Style with a playful yet innovative sensibility. Firms like Arquitectonica, an experimental studio founded in 1977, introduced thoroughly modern buildings typified by abstract designs in bold colors and graphics.
Unfortunately, the contributions of these firms are often overlooked, and the era’s ethos of artistic inquiry has lapsed into a crude commercialism. The 2018 case of the Babylon, a building developed by Arquitectonica that was demolished only two years after its designation as a protected landmark, served as the impetus for Miami-based architectural historian and architect Charlotte von Moos’ research. Dismayed at the negligence shown toward such remarkable projects, she assembled this authoritative guide, compiling a group of essays and a photo series that delineate the treasures, built and unbuilt, of Miami’s 1980s architecture.
