Wynwood Norte, a neighborhood directly above the popular tourist area, the Wynwood Walls, in Miami, Florida recently developed new zoning laws. The Wynwood Norte community was interested to see what the architecture students in my year would come up with to revamp and redevelop their neighborhood. Therefore, each section within my year was given a certain street. We began by choosing lots after going through a long process of considering which lots would be best to redevelop. I chose a narrow, long lot that was very overgrown and had a lot of natural vegetation. Each section also redeveloped the street itself. My section decided to add benches, small parks, parallel parking in intervals, string lights, line the street with trees, and add murals in the middle of crosswalks to emulate the Wynwood murals and street art in the area.

I think it is important to preserve natural vegetation especially in an area that is going to become very developed relatively quickly. Vegetation helps places feel more livable when there is a lot of concrete around. One of my first thoughts was to preserve the nature on my chosen lot. My apartment building takes on a courtyard shape so residents can have somewhere to spend time outside in the center of the building because the lot itself is too narrow to allow for outdoor space on the sides of the wings.

The building is 4 stories with studios, one-bedroom units, affordable two-bedroom units, and three-bedroom units. Each unit has its own balcony. There are two lobbies/entry ways on each wing; there are no long narrow hallways in the building so the residents can easily access their own units, and because the lot is too narrow to allow for a courtyard as well as typical hallways.

The facade is plaster. The exposed floor plates are concrete, and all of the windows are floor-to-ceiling to optimize natural light in the units as well as views of the courtyard. The balconies are meant to look like they are cut out of the building’s shape.