OMA Partner Dishes Convention Center Design Specs

MIAMI—After a long, bloody battle, South Beach ACE won the rights to redevelop the Miami Beach Convention Center District—and design firm OMA is authoring the new look. Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu, his right hand man and the partner in charge of the convention center project for OMA, is the man behind the plans.

Shigematsu joined OMA in 1998 and became a partner in 2008. He has led the OMA office in New York since 2006 and is responsible for the firm's operations in North America. Under his direction, the New York office has overseen the completion of Milstein Hall at Cornell University as well as the construction of the National Beaux Arts museum in Quebec.

Shigematsu has also led numerous direct collaborations with artists, including a pavilion in Cannes housing a seven screen system designed in collaboration with Kanye West, the Marina Abramovic Institute for the Preservation of Performance Art in upstate New York, and a studio renovation for artist Cai Guo Qiang in New York. GlobeSt.com caught up with Shigematsu to discuss the convention center project.

GlobeSt.com: How did you become involved in this Convention Center project? What initially attracted you to Miami Beach?

Shigematsu: Tishman and UIA Management set out to assemble a team of specialists in the areas of architecture, landscape design, traffic and mobility planning, convention center design, and more. OMA has long been attracted to the idea of undertaking a major planning and design project in the Miami area, so this was a natural fit. The convention center sits near the heart of South Beach, within a couple blocks of the sand and the Lincoln Road pedestrian mall, so this is one of the most important projects that will unfold in South Florida over the coming years.

GlobeSt.com: Miami Beach is a resort town at its core. How will the new convention center fit within that condition?

Shigematsu: While Miami Beach is known around the world for its beaches, nightlife and Art Deco architecture, it is also home to a sophisticated urban grid complete with lively commercial zones and residential areas. We have taken steps to integrate the convention center district within this scheme, including orienting the main entrance toward Lincoln Road Mall, aligning the building's entrances with city streets, creating new green spaces and public areas throughout the site, improving traffic flow, and creating physical connections with surrounding neighborhoods.

GlobeSt.com: What were the most significant planning and design challenges when you approached redesigning this site? How will you overcome these?

Shigematsu: The present-day convention center is lacking when it comes to loading and functionality, scale, and orientation. We have relocated the loading and parking areas to the north of the site and will hide these areas with accessible green space. By integrating exhibition halls, meeting rooms, ballrooms and a hotel within one structure, we dramatically reduce the facility's footprint and make way for new public areas. Lastly, we have rotated the exhibition halls 90-degrees, which will greatly improve pedestrian flow and establish connections with Lincoln Road.

GlobeSt.com: You have another project—Alan Faena's mixed use complex—located just north of the convention center. Will these two projects interact?

Shigematsu: Both the convention center redevelopment and Alan Faena's project are core components of the ongoing renaissance of Miami Beach that we are developing out of the New York office. The two projects incorporate urban elements and existing structures. One of the goals of the convention center master plan is to create a clearer relationship between the site and points along the beach, such as the Faena District. This will be accomplished through improved way-finding and signage and the development of an iconic hotel that will serve as an area landmark.

GlobeSt.com: What are the next steps in the convention center design and construction process?

Shigematsu: The next step is a November 2013 referendum in which Miami Beach voters will have a chance to voice their support for the project by ratifying the City Commission's selection of South Beach ACE as master developer. Once the referendum passes, we will get to work with construction planning in anticipation of beginning construction in early 2015.