This letter, by my friend and co-worker Andrew Georgiadis, was published by the Herald yesterday. Please be sure to make your opinion known to the City of Miami commissioners – get their contact info here!
Miami 21 doesn’t stifle creativity
Re the Nov. 18 letter Miami 21 will undermine city’s uniqueness, by Bernard Horovitz, president of AIA Miami: There are flaws in his argument. He says that, “The proposal includes virtually no public participation in the project-approval process. It also promotes a homogenized design formula over architectural character.”Rather, the very design of Miami 21 was shaped by public input through years of well-attended planning workshops, or charrettes, that have occurred at every step of the way.Miami 21 does not regulate the design or style of fac¸ades. Therefore it does not inhibit the creative freedom of architects in the least. Rather, it governs the quality of buildings as they relate to the shaping of urban spaces and streets. An innovative and self-confident architect will not feel threatened by it.
Horovitz then lists Miami’s signature buildings, among them, Bank of America, Wachovia and Espirito Santo Plaza. While iconic and pleasing from a great distance, they are miserable and minimalist at their ground floors and do little to enliven the sidewalk. They fail to provide a high degree of transparency and mixture of uses at ground level. Espirito Santo Plaza, in particular, has a moat and windswept plaza in front that repels all but those that have business to conduct at the building.
Why can’t an iconic skyline also be pleasing and satisfying at street level? Duany Plater-Zyberk’s Miami 21 seeks to remedy such fundamental errors in urban design, not prevent excellent architecture from being built.
Horovitz also says that there is no requirement for presentation to public-hearing boards or urban-design reviews.
Because of the intense nature of public input, which touched every facet of the code, the approvals process can then become more streamlined. We design professionals who support the code are excited about the prospect of designing under such a visionary code that embodies not only the best practices in urban design, but also residents’ desires.
As a design professional who has analyzed municipal codes all over the country, I believe that Miami should be grateful that a forward-thinking planning department has enlisted excellent architects and planners such as Duany Plater-Zyberk to create a code that will give us an urban form that promotes sustainability while enhancing Miami’s character, function and diversity.
ANDREW GEORGIADIS, Dover Kohl & Partners, town planning, Coral Gables
Hey Zyscovich, all you do is try to sell yourself. I’d rebut your arguments against Miami 21 if I thought you actually believe them. Why do you pretend not to know me when we are in the same room?
Miami 21 is the biggest farce sold to us by snooty snobs. Lets look at some recent history with this DPZ bunch. Remember the much ballyhood West Palm Development Code that DPZ brought about 5 years ago. Well, it turned out to be so bad in practice, that Zyscovitch is now working on modifying their code… Is that what we want to deal with? Also, no one mentions the fact that most single family homes will become legal nonconforming if this lunacy is passed into law. That will mean if we have a hurricane, and you house sufferes more than 50% damage, you will need to secure a special excpetion, warrant, or whatever Miami 21 calls it in order to rebuild your house to the way it was.. What insurance company is going to insure your house??
You guys are out to lunch!
Who designated Zyscovitch as the almighty voice on city codes?
If your house is more than 50% destroyed by a hurricane it makes common sense to rebuild to a conforming code – a code that helps ensure that your home will withstand the next hurricane. I don’t think insurance companies will have a problem with that. If you are foolish enough to seek the variance then it is your own fault if you can’t secure insurance…
We’re Back from Lunch!
Truth: Are you really concerned about someone’s home becoming LEGALLY nonconforming? I doubt it. Your arguments seem to be against the authors of the code, not its content.
PS. There are plenty of legally nonconforming houses in the City of Miami that were built under previous codes and have no problem getting insurance (I happen to live in one.) This scarecrow argument really gets at people’s fears – even though ANY code rewrite (even one authored by Zyscovich) would be subject to similar nonconformity issues.