Construction kicked off this week on Sweetbird North, an eight-story mixed-use development in Miami’s Design District.
The project is designed by Snøhetta and will include about 120,000 square feet of office space and roughly 22,500 square feet of ground-floor retail.
Its exterior is built around a custom-engineered veil of coiled stainless-steel mesh wrapped around a concrete structure. The mesh hangs from a structural frame and encloses exposed concrete bays and cantilevered terraces that vary in length and geometry between floors.
The facade system is intended to serve as a sunshade, guardrail, and hurricane-resistant exterior screen. The design also uses impact glazing, reinforced concrete, and protective screening to meet Miami’s hurricane requirements while reducing solar gain and cooling demand.
Archinect reported the start of construction; image credit in the source is Plomp.
