For over 50 years, Quito-based developer Uribe Schwarzkopf has been a mainstay of South American starchitecture. Now, it’s headed up north.
The family-owned company’s luxury residences and commercial spaces throughout Ecuador can be described many ways—lush, modern, even topsy-turvy—but never staid. After cementing its place in the Ecuadorian landscape with over 200 projects dating back to 1973, the developer is making its United States debut in Miami with an equally ambitious new residential and commercial build: WOMA, constructed in partnership with Dutch architecture firm MVRDV and local architect Kobi Karp.
Located in the northernmost part of Wynwood—Miami’s vibrant, walkable arts district—WOMA is composed primarily of 163 residences designed for creatives young and old, says Uribe Schwarzkopf CEO Joseph Schwarzkopf. It’s a product of and ode to the artistic and design heritage of the neighborhood, adding to the vibrancy of public spaces with a community plaza, expansive exhibition windows in the retail spaces, and a public art piece: a fastidiously mosaicked staircase, which bears one of Italian art and design purveyor Fornasetti’s most recognizable “Mano” compositions.
Even the building’s vibrant exterior is a nod to its native surroundings—the developer notes the tapestry-like color scheme is based on a study, run to determine the most prominent hues throughout the neighborhood. The architecture of the facade also points to the lot’s original owner and Schwarzkopf’s partner on the project: fashion designer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Rosita Hurtado, who will house her personal atelier onsite (the lot was also once used as a coffee roaster, though no caffeine motifs made it into the final design). “We wanted to do a nice—it’s gonna sound romantic—storytelling of the history of the place, being in the garment district,” says Schwarzkopf. “We wanted to keep that idea of textiles woven in the structure of the facade.”
Inside, MVRDV designed “live-work” residences ranging from studios to three-bedrooms, as well as a number of atelier-like units for artists and designers in need of a working studio or exhibition space, and office spaces accessible from the plaza. WOMA also provides residents—who are now buying up apartments—with a rooftop terrace, garden, and pool featuring unobstructed views of Miami, alongside a fitness studio, movie theater, sauna, and more. It’s a competitive offering in one of the most competitive global real estate markets, built on the idea that Miami is becoming less of a seasonal escape and more of a place to put down roots. (Beginning construction soon in Wynwood is a new Carnegie Mellon campus, funded by the largest individual gift in higher education history from alum Ken Griffin, bringing with it a ever-growing pool of young, academic transplants.)
Schwarzkopf believes residents will find in WOMA not just a place to live, but a cultural anchor for the expanding neighborhood. “We believe great architecture and design play an essential role in creating successful communities,” he says. “Miami has become a global business hub, and people from all over the world are relocating here to make it their full-time home. With WOMA, we’re creating a vertical neighborhood where residents can connect and become friends, even family. For us, culture and a sense of community are the new luxury, and they define true quality of life.”
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