student design competition
  • program

INTRODUCTION

Clients worldwide have become more demanding. They want aesthetically and creatively appealing designs, better technology to have everything at their fingertips, and facilities that allow them to indulge or relax, just a call away. Also, gone are the days of heavily formal designs in hotels. The new breed of adventurous designers and travelers has made the hotels rethink their set beliefs about guest service and hotel design.

Travelers want to be surprised or wowed each time they walk in. The reason for a more casual ambience in hotels can also be attributed to the need of frequent travelers to feel at home. Only a decade back, renovations and would be carried out at a gap of five to seven years. The periodicity has now increased to three to five years. Additionally, as business travel has increased all across the globe, new hotels are constantly being built in major destination cities.

Sponsored by the Modular Building Institute and administered by the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS), the program challenges students to learn about modular building techniques and systems in the design of a modern and sustainable Miami Beach hotel. The competition is designed for North American design students of all ages. Total prize money is $7,225, including $2,500 for the first place winning design.

ABOUT THE COMPETITION

The objectives of this competition are:

  • To research, respond to and highlight the unique aspects of designing a modern hotel that serves the selected site and community of Miami Beach, FL
  • To learn about and utilize the modular building process to develop a mutli-story design that meets both the program requirements and promotes advancements for future modular buildings
  • To design a facility that utilizes sustainable features in the areas of thermal comfort, indoor air quality, day lighting, acoustics, energy efficiency, resource strategy, aesthetics, and economic practicality (ability to attain LEED certification is preferred but not required)*
  • To develop a design that compliments the existing buildings and natural surroundings of the community both now and into the future
  • To develop a design that reflects the unique culture, history and climate of Miami Beach site

The site selected for the new hotel is located at 6551 Colins Avenue in North Miami Beach, FL. Once the site of the Monte Carlo Hotel (built in 1948), the building was demolished in 2004 after standing vacant since the early 1990s. Plans for a new 20 story building were approved in 2005 but construction has yet to begin. With nearly 200 feet of beach front property, the site is a perfect location of a mordern luxury hotel.

Download the site information here

*The AIAS does not support or endorse specific credentialing programs in the determination of a buildings level of sustainability.