Bernardo Fort-Brescia, Principal, Arquitectonica

Invest: spoke with Bernardo Fort-Brescia, principal of Arquitectonica, about how the firm is navigating a rapidly evolving South Florida market—from regional expansion and new mobility links to the rise of mixed-income housing and walkable urban neighborhoods. “To me, the real model in the world is Miami, where we mix residential and office,” he said.

Over the past 12 months, what changes in the Miami market have most influenced Arquitectonica, whether internally or externally?

As architects, we design projects that will be delivered three or four years from now, so by definition, we are always working on the future. Even so, the past year has brought important shifts. The first is how we define our market. It is no longer just Miami; it is South Florida. Today, our work spans Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Naples, and Tampa, and the volume of projects to the north has been significant enough that we opened an office in West Palm Beach. Locating staff there has made us more efficient, freed up space in our Coconut Grove headquarters, and allowed us to respond more quickly to clients across the tri-county area.

Mobility has been another meaningful change. The Brightline has been a game-changer for us because it allows our teams to move easily between offices and project sites from Miami to Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach. That kind of fast regional connectivity is part of what makes South Florida feel like a more integrated, modern metropolitan area.

On the development side, South Florida has long been a strong residential market focused on mid-market and luxury housing. Over the last year, we have seen the emergence of more affordable and workforce housing as a serious component of the pipeline. Local incentives have encouraged developers to integrate workforce units into their projects, opening a whole new window for development that is both economically viable and socially necessary. Entitlements are often the biggest factor in whether a project can move forward, and streamlined tools that reward mixed-income housing have been critical in expanding the market beyond traditional product types.

We have also seen a transformation at the street level. In the past, codes in the city of Miami required active uses on the ground floor, but it was a struggle to make that retail successful. Now there is real demand. Miami’s neighborhoods are experiencing a surge in food-and-beverage and other ground-floor offerings, and the city has developed a true street life. Coming out of COVID, people want to be out, to socialize, and to walk. Walkable districts such as Coconut Grove, Brickell, Coral Gables, Wynwood, the Design District, and parts of Miami Beach have capitalized on that shift, creating urban environments where people can live, work, and spend their leisure time in the same area.

This evolution has changed the character of Miami. For many years, American cities invested heavily in single-use central business districts where people commuted in for work and left empty at night and on weekends. Miami largely skipped that phase and instead moved directly into a mixed-use urban model where residential, office, hotel, and retail uses coexist. Over time, that has given us a city that feels more like New York, Paris, or other global urban centers, with many different neighborhoods and personalities but a continuous sense of life. To me, the real model in the world is Miami, where we mix residential and office.

Are there recent projects or partnerships in Miami that you would highlight as particularly impactful for the firm and the region?

Arquitectonica has always been a diversified firm, and Miami showcases the breadth of our work. Brickell City Centre is a good example of our skill set: in a single project, you see retail, office, residential, and hotel components integrated into one urban destination. That multidimensional approach reflects what we do globally, whether in hospitality, residential, office, or retail.

Beyond the private mixed-use sector, we are deeply engaged in infrastructure and civic projects that support Miami’s role as an international gateway. Our firm has designed cruise terminals for MSC and Virgin at PortMiami, as well as Disney at Port Canaveral and projects at ports abroad. We have a strong sports portfolio, including the renovation of the Dolphins’ stadium, the new soccer stadium in Miami, and arenas in Atlanta and in Texas. These venues are not only important pieces of architecture; they are economic engines and place-makers for their communities.

Education is another sector we consider fundamental to the long-term growth of any city, and it has become one of the most important anchors in our practice. If a region does not offer great schools, families will not move there in a sustainable way. In Miami, we have worked with many of the leading schools, from designing new buildings for well-known independent schools to developing entire campuses from the ground up. We are also active at the university level, including residence halls, academic facilities, and student centers. This work may be less visible than luxury condominiums, but in terms of what it contributes to the development of the city, we see it as essential.

We are equally passionate about culture. Our team designed the Dennis C. Moss Cultural Arts Center, is leading a major renovation of the Dade County Auditorium, and is advancing the renovation and restoration of the Coconut Grove Playhouse, among other theater projects in Florida and around the world, like the recently completed Naples Playhouse. Cultural venues are complex buildings that demand a high level of technical expertise, but they are also civic living rooms that help define a community’s identity.

Finally, there is a new generation of office buildings emerging in Miami and across South Florida, and we are proud to be shaping that typology. When we designed our own Coconut Grove office building two decades ago, we insisted on features such as operable windows, a central courtyard, and proximity to neighborhood amenities.

Those same elements—natural light, outdoor space, wellness, fitness, and active ground floors with restaurants and services—are now what tenants are demanding in Class A office space. Today, we are applying that thinking to projects for clients in Miami, Boca Raton, and Palm Beach. While there are valid questions about what will happen to older, more traditional office stock, the demand for contemporary, human-centered workplaces remains strong, and Miami is positioning itself at the forefront of that shift.