Rene Gonzalez Architects The Standard

The Standard Hotel

Addressing the reality of sea level rise while focusing on the practical need to accommodate more spacious suites and parking, RGA developed an elevated design for an integrated renovation that explores and expands upon the essential cultural and natural typologies of the site.

Location:
Miami Beach, FL, United States
Completed:
2016
Sector:
Hospitality
Services:
Architecture

Situated on a waterfront site, The Standard Hotel is located on Belle Isle and faces Biscayne Bay. A historic example of mid-century Miami Modern (“MiMo”) architecture, it is a fashionable hotel and spa with a distinctively relaxed, bohemian quality. Addressing the reality of sea level rise while focusing on the practical need to accommodate more spacious suites and parking, RGA developed an elevated design for an integrated renovation that explores and expands upon the essential cultural and natural typologies of the site.

Intended to create a hospitality experience embedded in the existing ethos of The Standard Hotel, the design will replace 41 of the current hotel rooms with the same number of code-compliant hotel rooms comprising three typologies, all elevated bungalows with outdoor soaking tubs and terraces. These consist of Beach Suites, with private sandy areas and Jacuzzis, Sky Suites oriented towards the sky to provide places for contemplation while framing views of the landscape, and Farrey Suites (named for neighboring Farrey Lane), which face private garden spaces. Floating roof structures reinterpret the historic MiMo elements in a contemporary way. Additionally, 76 buffered parking spaces will be created within an enclosed garage that will obviate noise and exhaust fumes while alleviating the traffic congestion created by the current valet program, which requires that cars be driven from Belle Isle to Sunset Harbour. All other hotel amenities, pool, restaurant, bar, lobby, and spa will remain intact and not grow.

Elevating this addition, the architectural design draws on precedents situated in similar environmental conditions including elevated Native American chickee huts in Florida, the beach huts of Playa Blanca in Cartagena, Colombia, and the floating community of Stiltsville in Biscayne Bay, in addition to elements such as mangroves, docks, piers, and pilings.

Office
875 NW 3rd Street
Miami, FL 33128
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RGA Pattern – 1