Miami, USA
Along the Atlantic coast on Miami Beach, the famed 1920s Surf Club by architect Russel Pancoast has been converted into a Four Seasons Hotel and Residence by Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design Inc. with DeSimone consulting engineers.
The historic Surf Club, a bastion of old Miami glamour, is now a hotel and private residences with the restoration of the original Mediterranean revival property and the addition of contemporary towers.
For its sustainable design that achieves LEED standards, The Surf Club has recently been awarded a 2022 Green Good Design Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The surf club is known for its original highly ornate, authentically detailed, and well-proportioned Mediterranean revival structure designed by Russell Pancoast in 1929.
The unique high beamed and vaulted ceilings, majestic colonnades, and massive fireplaces are also well-known features of the club.
With the idea of history and contemporary ideas merging into one, a historical showcase building framed by a glassy modern backdrop, four new glass towers juxtapose the old and new.
Three of the towers extrude from Russell Pancoast’s original structure, causing a strong tension between the past and the present.
In the center, a new hotel tower floats over a historical courtyard, creating an indoor glass atrium running four stories high.
The previously exclusive club becomes the hotel lobby, lounge, library, bar, restaurant, ballroom, and other public spaces, while courtyards, gardens, and terraces comprise the outdoor amenity areas.
The grand “peacock alley” spans from street to ocean.
The club and cantilevered hotel above them become centerpieces between two larger glass volumes containing new residential areas.
To the north, three crystalline sugar cubes are staggered away from the historic building to frame the original Mediterranean revival structure.
A southern tower boomerangs around a historic southern courtyard and the former club’s preserved ocean cabanas.
The original structure could not support additional loads; therefore, the glass towers needed to be built around and above the existing conditions.
With the assistance of DeSimone consulting engineers, designing post-tensioned elements including roof transfer, hanging columns, and transfer plate resolved the structural issues.
The program also required excavations under the existing historic Russell T. Pancoast structure to incorporate a basement parking that spans the entire 900-foot of the site allowing for subterranean access between the three separate new glass towers and the historic building.
The overall design is a juxtaposition of historic south Florida and modern Miami lifestyle.
The two blend harmoniously in both the interior and exterior spaces.
The restoration of the existing courtyard, restaurants, bars, and lounge areas allows residents to enjoy a vacation lifestyle and hotel amenities on their property while hotel guests interact with locals at their hotel destination
All occupants enjoy exceptional turquoise views of the Atlantic Ocean.
Throughout the whole process, it was a priority for the whole team to comply and maintain the guidelines along with the requirements to obtain the necessary credits for a LEED certification.
Control measures range from material sourcing to housekeeping.
For construction, all materials were inspected and approved before arriving at the site.
Project: The Surf Club
Architects: Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design Inc.
Original Architect: Russell Pancoast
Consulting Engineers: DeSimone
Client: Four Seasons Hotel and Residences
Photographers: KKAID
