PRINT THIS STORY:

CHANGE TEXT SIZE:

DOLPHIN MALL DESIGNERS THINK OUTSIDE THE BOXES

By Dave Bodamer

Miami’s Dolphin Mall will feature an arched roof that extends to the entrance.

Regional mall designers rarely get a chance to flex creative muscles and often must rely on tried-and-true layouts and design schemes. That is not the case at the Dolphin Mall, a 1.5 million-square-foot value megamall scheduled to open March 1 in Miami. The center — a mix of outdoor and indoor spaces with restaurants, traditional retail tenants and outlet tenants — is a showcase of colors, styles and structural details rarely seen in the industry. It will have South Florida touches, including Art Deco-inspired designs in the 850-seat food court, cabana-style storefronts and beach-style chaise lounges in one wing. Moreover, because the center is in Florida, designers faced the added challenge of hurricane requirements.

"I think it’s unique,’’ said Larry Beame, president of Coral Gables, Fla.-based Beame Architectural Partnership, the center’s designer. "It’s different from any other value-oriented mall that I’ve seen or worked on.’’

The mall’s structure is not so different from any other regional mall building of its size. It’s built from concrete and steel with plenty of skylights and glass curtain walls. The main concourse is a racetrack plan, which is becoming more common for malls of this size, especially outlet centers. The ingenuity of the design stems from its most striking element — an 80-foot-wide arched roof that seems to float above the building — and from the three different zones of the mall that are differentiated through materials, the shapes of the corridor spaces and the lighting and color schemes.

Dolphin Mall’s opening is the culmination of more than five years of cajoling, designing and redesigning. The project’s developers are Swerdlow Real Estate Group, Hollywood, Fla.; and Taubman Centers, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Swerdlow initiated the project and gained approval for it in 1997, with ground broken in June 1998. Taubman did not come in until 1999, when the project needed an infusion of cash to keep it going. The company made its mark, even at that late stage, by bringing in CommArts, Boulder, Colo., to help redesign the entire interior.

The $200 million mall sits at the intersection of Dolphin Expressway and the Florida Turnpike. One hundred and fifty of the mall’s 200 stores will be ready for business on opening day. The other 50 are expected to open by the end of the summer.

The center is roughly rectangular in plan and has two levels. The rectangle is divided into three zones — called Moda, Ramblas and Playa — meant to reflect the types of stores in those spaces as well as to re-create places in Miami, such as its downtown and its beachfront hotels. A portion of the project containing eateries and some recreational space is also outdoors. Moreover, the mall is divided vertically with most of the entertainment tenants on the second level and the stores on the first level.

Structurally, the mall’s exterior shell is built from cast-on-site concrete. The first-story walls were cast on site and tilted up when set. The second story was cast on site and lifted into place after the first story was in place.

The interior structure is largely concrete and has steel columns supporting the vaulted roof. The vault is punctured with ribbon skylights and sits atop a level of clerestory windows. The piece covers most of the mall’s interior, but also extends to cover the exterior plazas. It is the most dominant visual element and visible from both nearby highways. The vault is not supported by a typical space-frame truss. The structure is a framework that is "lacy’’ in appearance and extends from concrete columns and supports steel space frame arches. Tree branches inspired the design of the truss webbing.

"It almost looks like it’s floating,’’ Beame said. "It’s a strong and simple form. Anybody could look at it and know it’s an invitation to come to the center.’’ The skylights and clerestory level bring in natural light, but the mall is not inundated. "We wanted the stores to be the shining jewels,’’ Beame said. "You have to be careful not to make it so bright that the light is detracting from the storefronts. The lighting is subtle, but it is almost always natural ambient light at the right level.’’

A large portion of the mall’s exterior consists of glass curtain walls. That, in itself, is not an unusual detail. However because of state and Miami-Dade County codes, the glass must be hurricane-resistant. The double-paned glass is reinforced with a laminate between the panes, which keeps it from shattering when hit by flying debris. It also enables the glass walls to stand up to higher wind loads than a single-paned curtain wall would.

"In Dade and Broward counties, the glazing products on a structure need to comply with South Florida code and with Dade County protocols and compliance,’’ said David Becker of IAB Consultants, Miami, the project engineer. "All systems have to be tested and have product approval for exterior wall systems. That was the first challenge. We also reviewed the glazing shop drawings the subcontractor prepared for the skylights and exterior wall cladding. We made recommendations on how we believed it should be weather-sealed.’’

Although the mall is built on two levels instead of one, it is similar in style to those built by The Mills Corp., based on floor plan and tenant roster. Dolphin’s mix of outlet concepts and entertainment, its emphasis on creative open spaces and its employment of the racetrack design are all elements found in properties owned by Arlington, Va.-based Mills. Moreover, Dolphin Mall will directly compete with the company’s Sawgrass Mills center in Broward County. However, the project team insists that Miami itself was all the inspiration it needed to come up with a design. And the racetrack layout, they said, simply makes more sense for a project of this size. The racetrack concourse varies in shape and atmosphere as a customer walks through the mall. Some areas are curved in plan; some have higher bay spaces. Others are more intimate, such as areas where the first-floor concourse passes under part of the second level.

"There’s an added drama as customers walk through experiencing these spaces. It’s something I don’t see too often,’’ Beame said.

Beame and his associates had completed the basic design of the center before Taubman joined in. After Taubman brought in CommArts, the design of the interior spaces radically changed and the idea of creating three zones was born. "Ramblas is the symbolic front door of the plaza with outdoor kiosks and restaurants that bring visitors into the mall,’’ said Ron Loch, Taubman’s vice president of planning and design. "Playa is modeled after Miami’s Ocean Drive, and Moda is more about fashion and style.’’

Ramblas is modeled after Miami’s downtown and has an urban feel with storefronts modeled to look like those that a shopper would encounter walking around downtown. However, the details are exaggerated and stylized so that the facades are not exact reproductions.

Ocean Drive is Miami Beach’s beachfront. Most of the buildings are Art Deco hotels. In Playa, the storefronts reflect this aesthetic. Meanwhile chandeliers and light fixtures are modeled after palmetto plants.

Moda is glitzier. The concourse is filled with large curtains and drapes framing the storefronts. It is also filled with large mirrors, and the dominant color is white. "The three zones are very distinct, which helps the customer become oriented very easily,’’ Loch said. "The customer can be more precise about their visits knowing which part of the mall they want to go to. Projects of this size can be intimidating, but by making distinct zones we hope to quell that.’’

Cobb Cinemas, Birmingham, Ala., will run a 19-screen theater. Cobb, which was bought out by Regal Cinemas in 1997, has re-emerged as an independent company and ironically is taking a space at Dolphin Mall, originally slated to host a 28-screen Regal Theater.

There will be a Dave & Buster’s video arcade and restaurant. Anchor stores include Burlington Coat Factory; FYE, For Your Entertainment, a CD, video, DVD and video game retailer; Group USA, a clothing store and bridal salon; Linens ’N Things; Mars Music; a Marshalls clothing megastore; Off Fifth Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet Store; Old Navy; Oshman’s SuperSports; and Ross Dress for Less, a discount clothing chain.

© 2008 ICSC. All rights reserved. | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy | Contact ICSC | ICSC Home |