Miami Monument - A Design and 3D visualization Competition

One hundred years should be enough to tell a story. Patterns should emerge. Certain riddles solved in the process. Miamiís legacy suggests differently. The crossroads it embodies transcends physical place, embracing transformation as its constant, making predictions all but futile. Its streets teem with languages, countries and accents. Life confronts daily, as does the occasional and unquestionable authority of an impending storm, reminding everyone that resilience is perhaps the only other quality running as reliably as the self-energizing certainty of change in Miami. Whether the vibrant energy this city embodies can somehow be quantified, is not as significant as the manner in which Miami is capable of taking it all in thirstily and returning it tenfold with an ever-expanding appetite for life. It is this very process of re-generation that guides this bold proposal for the Miami Monumentóone whose objective is to provide an example for other great cities to follow, if only in their commitment to projects that embrace change wholeheartedly, not only in design, but also as a life, civic and urban ideal. The Miami Sunspars, symbolize duality and change, as much as they fulfill the urban imperative of pedestrian connectivity. When horizontal, the Sunspar network physically links important destinations along Miamiís edge. When vertical, they soar over 2,000 feet providing majestic urban markers whose solar sails shimmer under the tropical sun, collecting enough energy to illuminate them dramatically at night, and returning the many extra kilowatts to the electrical grid, in an elegantly sustainable design. A tram system attaches to the Sunspars and works like a large-scale ski-lift, capable of safely shuttling people horizontally from one location to another. Vertically, the trams act as elevators, providing unparalleled dramatic views of Miami and South Florida. As beacons connecting the edges of Miamiís downtown, the Childrenís Museum, Port Authority and South Beach, the Sunspars are visible from afar, affording spectacular navigational aids for both land and seaborne traffic. During hurricanes or heavy weather, they can be lowered to their horizontal configuration and used to evacuate people quickly. Each Sunspar also broadcasts a moving stream of information via a digital MediaBar where Miamiís people, events & weather are displayed. During designated periods, any or all spars can be lowered. The form of the Miami Sunspars is inspired by the graceful shape of leaves on a palm frond, and by the illuminated cranes that dot the Miami seaport. The resilience of vegetation known for its ability to survive severe weather, coupled with an industrial symbol of one of the worldís most active ports, is echoed in the multiplicity of the spars and in their kinetic nature. The leaf additionally embodies one of natureís more efficient processors of energyóengines that in their own small way absorb light, transform it into energy, and in the process make the continuation of life in other living beings possible. The Sunspars emulate this condition, building on Miamiís ability to absorb life and give it back in an ever-evolving process of reinvention and regeneration.