In Miami, Smaller Buildings Captivate Too

"Two side-by-side buildings on Miami's Northeast 40th Street have an other-worldly, old-worldly quality to them. With the simplest of building materials -- stucco, tile, paint and metal -- they encapsulate the fantasy and the poetry of Miami's architecture and showcase two promising architectural firms who worked in tandem to create Oak Plaza.

The oaks in question are ancient, gnarly trees that had for decades owned what had been an empty Design District lot. Not often do trees, even decades-old ones, drive a design, but that was the case here.

'I didn't want to kill those beautiful oak trees,' said Craig Robins, the developer responsible for much of Miami's Design District. 'They are the soul of the neighborhood.'"