Zaha Hadid Designs a Skyscraper with an Exoskeleton for Downtown Miami

The next iconic skyscraper that might sprout up in downtown Miami will take its architectural cues from a bug. Plans for the proposed One Thousand Museum building, designed by star architect Zaha Hadid, have emerged and the towering residential building sports an exoskeleton.

The building is slated for 1000 Biscayne Blvd, currently the site of a BP gas station just south of Ten Museum Park. According to Curbed Miami, Hadid's design sports a unique exoskeleton in order to do away with interior structural columns within apartment. The structure also somewhat obscures the building's balconies. The plans call for a 706-foot tower, with sixty stories.

via WSJ

"I really love Miami, but I don't think the architecture matches the city," Hadid told The Wall Street Journal. "It's a bit too commercial."

Hadid, perhaps the worlds most celebrated female architect, is no stranger to Miami Beach. She winters for a few weeks each year in an apartment at the W South Beach, and is also the architect behind the plans for Miami Beach's next parking garage in Collins Park. One Thousand Museum would be her first residential tower in the United States.

via Curbed

Of course, there's no guarantee the building will be built. Developers first need to secure $300 million in financing, and the project could be a risky investment. One Thousand Museum would likely become downtown Miami's most expensive apartment building, with prices you're more likely to see in Miami Beach than in the urban core.

Apartments would either come in half-floor or full-floor models, and prices would range from $900 to $1,400 per square foot. The Wall Street Journal points out that most condos in downtown sell for $500 per square foot, at most. Ocean-front units on Miami Beach tend to run $1,000 to $1,250 per square foot. The penthouse unit at One Thousand Museum might end up being priced as high as $50 million, an unheard of sum in the city.

Hmmm, that all sounds very commercial to us.

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