Film: take a whistle-stop tour of Miami's new Faena District

last updated 31 August 2022

Designed by OMA, the architectural collection of Faena Forum, Faena Bazaar and Faena Park on Collins Avenue are all examples of placemaking strategy at its most ambitious. The projects have transformed a formerly faded urbanscape known as Mid-Beach and will be soon joined by Faena Mar, a residential tower designed by Brandon Haw, set to open in 2017.

It all began when the Argentinean entrepreneur Alan Faena bought the Saxony Hotel, one of the first luxury resort hotels in Miami originally opened in the 1940s. Since its glamorous renovation it has grown into a six block-strong district, branded with the Faena coat of arms. Faena’s masterplan is a Great Gatsby-style utopian vision of a resort destination. Speaking to Wallpaper* in 2014, Mr Faena said: 'Faena Miami Beach is a country, with a flag, a coat of arms and heraldic symbols. It will change Miami Beach forever.' And so it has. As Design Miami and Art Basel get underway this week, explore filmmaker Rob Whitworth's 360-degree view of the Faena District, now officially opened.

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).