Focal Point
How Zaha Hadid’s final project has been brought to life in Miami
WRITTEN BY PATRICK BRENNAN
Rarely does a single tower transform a cityscape and supercharge the complete vibe of an area but that’s what is happening on Miami’s Biscayne Boulevard where the late Zaha Hadid’s final U.S. residential tower, One Thousand Museum Residences, has become an instant icon.
Developed by Louis Birdman, Gilberto Bomeny, Gregg Covin, Todd Glaser and Kevin Venger and nicknamed “The Scorpion Building” because of its distinctive exoskeleton design, One Thousand Museum soars 62 floors above Museum Park and is attracting buyers from around the world who are seeking a top-of-the-line condominium home with unrivalled amenities at the center of Miami’s financial, business, entertainment and cultural activities.
Co-developer Louis Birdman commented, “We are honored to deliver an architectural masterpiece by one of the world’s leading talents, and in an iconic city like Miami. One Thousand Museum is Zaha Hadid’s embodiment of the Magic City’s bold and vibrant flair. The building has been extremely well received by not only buyers, but locals and visitors that marvel at the striking exoskeleton amongst the skyline.”
One Thousand Museum is represented exclusively by ONE Sotheby’s International Realty which is offering the building’s 84 residences ranging from duplex townhomes, half-floor plans and full floor residences priced from the mid $5MM’s to over $20MM.
We are honored to deliver an architectural masterpiece by one of the world’s leading talents. One Thousand Museum is Zaha Hadid’s embodiment of the Magic City’s bold and vibrant flair.
—Louis Birdman
So what can a prospective buyer expect for their money? Once they have been whisked to their apartments via secure, high-speed elevators, Hadid’s east-west, flow-through floor plans and striking design offer panoramic views of Biscayne Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and the Miami skyline all of which can be enjoyed from the floor-to-ceiling windows or the expansive lounging terraces found in each condo.
Interiors feature custom Italian kitchens with quartz countertops, top-of-the-line appliances from Gaggenau, refrigerators by Sub Zero, custom Italian made walk-in closets and interior doors by Luadi Porte with customized Valli & Valli handles designed by Zaha Hadid herself. Apartments also feature premium European illumination customized by German designer Uli Petzold and state-of-the-art automation infrastructure created by Crestron.
The building’s amenities are similarly top notch. Residents enjoy light-filled indoor/outdoor pools, and a spa and wellness center that includes a spacious fitness center with the very latest strength and cardio training equipment. A dedicated indoor area for movement training and stretching, Yoga rooms, private rooms for massage and beauty treatments, steam and sauna rooms and relaxation and lounge areas, all overlooking and opening onto the spacious sun and swim terrace.
In order to provide residents with a seamless, luxury lifestyle experience, One Thousand Museum is the first residential project to partner with Forbes Travel Guide to train all staff in accordance with their five-star ratings system. If that wasn’t enough, residents have access to a curator of hospitality and even a private rooftop heliport for those wishing to skip traffic to the airport, hop to nearby islands or to their private yachts.
Realizing Hadid’s vision for the building presented a series of complex challenges for Plaza Construction, the builders selected for the project, with further layers of complexity added because the components and products were engineered in Dubai and shipped to the site for construction. The process proved to be so difficult that One Thousand Museum has been recognized as one of the world’s most challenging architectural projects to date. In fact, no other building has been built in the U.S. using this process which adds to the mystique of Zaha Hadid’s first and last Miami residential project.
