Situated one block from Biscayne Bay, the Four Seasons Tower is Miami’s first true mixed-use urban residential building. The building integrates a 220-room hotel with 186 apartments, timeshare units, a 40,000-square-foot fitness facility, seven floors of office space, and a 300 car above grade parking facility, all in a 64-story concrete frame.

The challenge for this building was to fit multiple program elements into a singular tower form, contained in a building height not previously built in Florida. The structure had to withstand high tropical winds with minimal sway if residents were to be convinced to live on upper floors, which meant a substantial building core. In addition, all utilities had to be above the flood plain, including parking, which meant that the ground plane for open space ended up on top of the 7-story podium.

The tower is clad in a glass and metal skin, and the low-rise podium containing the parking garage is stone and pre-cast panels. The project is designed around the concept of luminosity, taking cues from the quality of the light in Miami and the idea of the intersection between the sky and water. The result is a tower component that is wrapped in soft, light glass with unique reflective silver metal details.

The base acts as an elevated ground plane, with retail uses enlivening the surrounding streets; above is a 65,000-square-foot roof terrace with pools and gardens designed by renowned landscape architect Dan Kiley. The office program, occupied by HSBC, is articulated to front Brickell Avenue, while the side street marks the porte-cochere entries.