Next Level | Landscape Design Workshop

Next Level | LANDSCAPE DESIGN WORKSHOP

Renters Are Flocking To The Outdoor Amenities Of A Brand-New Luxury Apartment In Miami

Project Details

Project value 6.6 acres | Build time 5 years | Size of project Under $2M

South Pool Deck

Luxury apartment leader AMLI Residential has just opened a new property in downtown Miami, and its outdoor amenities are the number-one selling point.

AMLI Midtown Miami features 700 apartments in three buildings, joined by flyover bridges and a multi-level, interconnected system of gardens, swimming pools, courtyards and recreational amenities. For leading landscape architect, Erez Bar-Nur of Landscape Design Workshop, it was a dream assignment.

“AMLI is a great brand known for luxury around the country,” says Erez. “They really wanted a rich outdoor program for their residents. They had an amazing budget and wanted this property to be their crown jewel. This is the gold standard.”

The infill development project replaced a blighted Chiquita packing plant with a 6.6-acre residential community spanning three city blocks. The project was designed to embrace the core principles of new urbanism and smart growth and is LEED Platinum® certified.

Landscape Design Workshop provided landscape architecture services for the entire project including planting, hardscape, lighting and irrigation. The project began more than five years ago, and leases are now going fast. AMLI’s big investment in outdoor spaces is paying dividends.

“Outdoor spaces always add value,” saysErez. “And the value really just went up after COVID. People realize more and more the value of outdoor space, especially in an urban context. We’ve designed this project like one large playground.”

Concrete Pavers, planters and Bocce Court

Landscape Design Workshop has designed incredible spaces everywhere, from the detailed herringbone tile on the street to a ninth-floor rooftop volleyball court with Olympic sand. In between are three dog parks, two rooftop swimming pools, a bocce ball court, putting green, fire tables, garden patios and a stunning courtyard.

Overall we wanted to reflect the Florida lifestyle, utilizing a lot of the outdoors and creating little spaces that intermingle and flow with each other

The color palette mimics the Miami’s classic chic style—fresh white planters and pavers, cool blue water, lush green vegetation, and little pops of fun accent color. While it looks perfect now, a project this big did not come without complication.

“The challenge was definitely the complexity of it,” Erez explains. “There were a lot of moving parts. When you start going up in the levels, everything is built on top of a structure. We took advantage of every space we could. We tightly coordinated everything with the architect and structural engineers to ensure the structures could carry the load. We also did extensive water proofing.”

Sports-grade turf was selected for the bocce ball court and putting green, while more lush turf was chosen for walkway areas. For the dog parks, an odor-resistant turf fabricated for pets was selected. “We used artificial turf throughout the property to not only reduce watering and maintenance, but also reduce the noise that comes along with that,” notes Erez.

Landscape Design Workshop took great pride in the details. LED lighting was installed under built-in benches so they glow at night. To match the pop of orange on the building, the team planted Heliconia ‘Parrot Beak’ and installed orange umbrellas and lounge chairs around the pool. To assist with parallel parking, Belgard street tiles were artfully arranged in a grid pattern that is as useful as it is beautiful. The tiles are four inches deep to handle the weight of utility trucks. The concrete pavers were mixed on site with three varying shades of gray.

The property is right on the street, so Landscape Design Workshop created green buffers with lush vegetation and installed fountains throughout the property to drown out the city noise. One of Erez’s favorite spaces is the courtyard.

4th Floor Pool with 9th Floor Flyover Bridge

“We’ve created a really cool space when you step into the courtyard,” says Erez. “It feels very protected in between the buildings. You don’t feel you’re in the middle of the city because of the vegetation and the sound of the water—you’re transported to a different place.”

Beautiful Courtyard Views At Dusk

The courtyard fountain traverses three different levels. The plaza is raised about two feet above street level, and tenants and guests cross over a glass bridge, the water flowing beneath them. The courtyard also features trellises, a kitchen and private garden patios for the ground-floor units. Trees selected for the space are wild date palms, Alexander palms and Bridal Veil trees with finely textured leaves that allow in more light.

You don't feel you're in the middle of the city because of the vegetation and the sound of water–you're transported to a different place

Aerial View of Complex

The fourth-floor rooftop features an L-shaped pool with moving fountains to create ambient sound. Custom aluminum trellises provide privacy and shade for lounging. Higher concrete planters feature taller coconut palms and cone palms, while a lower level of planters was designed to soften the wall with smaller plants. Landscape Design Workshop designed built-in benches between the planters which look like wood but are made with a more durable porcelain tile. Complementing the planters are wide concrete pavers, poured on site.

Beach Volleyball with Olympic Sand and Pop-up Movie Theatre Screen

In an urban setting with a limited footprint, every inch was utilized to its maximum. Filling the space between the two buildings on the ninth-floor rooftop is a stunning centerpiece: a fountain planter with a one-of-a-kind guava tree that can be viewed from the gym. The fountain was constructed with porcelain tile and a stone veneer. The walkway paving is travertine installed in a French pattern.

Fountain Planter

We've designed this project like one large playground

Street View of the Complex

Also on the ninth-floor rooftop, a lush border of native holly, dwarf grass and Fakahatchee grass hide the building’s 200 air-conditioning units from the beach volleyball court. For movie nights on the sand, the volleyball net is removed, and a screen pops up from the white concrete wall.

Other plants selected throughout the property include holly trees, royal palms, rusty leaf figs, variegated ginger, Swiss cheese plants and elephant ears. Plant materials were sourced from various nurseries.

Concrete Planters and Porcelain Seating Surrounded the Putting Green

Erez says he has always been inspired by urban spaces, since a child growing up in Tel-Aviv in the midst of tightly knit mid-rise buildings and the green spaces between them. His work on AMLI Midtown Miami took home the Gold Award in the 2020 International Muse Design Awards. Of the more than 4,618 entries submitted from 57 countries, AMLI Midtown Miami rose to the top.

The Dog Park from Above

Contact

Erez Bar-Nur

Landscape Design Workshop

301 Yamato Road, Suite 1240 Boca Raton, Florida 33431

Tel: (954) 772-0274

www.landscapedesignworkshop.com