1111 Lincoln Road: A Ceremony of Arrival, Priscilla Pagan

Image 1: From 1111 Lincoln Road's Official Website

      With 1111 Lincoln Road, Herzog and de Meuron rethink the conventional archetype for a parking garage. The simple absence of its façade introduces it as a new archetype. Traditionally, in a building that has the function to store cars, the program is hidden. However, 1111 Lincoln Road celebrates cars by putting them on display. In an article for the New York Times, Michael Barbaro calls the 1111 “a piece of carchitecture” and sees it “as an ode to Miami’s flashy automobile culture.” Jacques Herzog describes 1111 Lincoln Road as "pure Miami Beach -all muscle without cloth," explaining its lack of skin or facade. The absence of the façade gives theatrical views of the city while driving through it, creating a ceremonial event of arrival. 1111 Lincoln Road cements the transition between modes of transportation, from vehicular to pedestrian, making an experience from this transitional event of arriving at Lincoln Road. 

View of 1111 from the West.
Image by Iwan Baan. Click image for link.

Diagram of 11 11 Lincoln Road shows how the absence of the facade allows for a public transparency of structure and circulation both into the building and out of it, as opposed to its neighboring building which houses a more private function of office spaces. Image by Herzog and de Meuron.

View from NorthWest shows how the lack of facade gives 1111 its public quality compared to the more private quality of the neighboring office building. Image by Iwan Baan. Click image for link.

Open staircase that allows pedestrians to walk through 1111 Lincoln Road in a "ceremonial" manner. Image by Iwan Baan. Click image for link.

Stair case going through a shorter height level, which has the singular function of vehicular parking. Image by Iwan Baan. Click image for link.

Open stair going through a double height space, which has multi-functions for vehicular parking to retail to public events.  Image by Iwan Baan. Click image for link.

Variation of slabs and levels. Image by Iwan Baan. Click image for link. 

The theatricality of this transitional event is emphasized through use of the ramps to wind through the compressions and expansions of its changing floor heights that range from 8 feet to 34 feet tall –depending on the program- and utilizing an open staircase in the center of the structure that allows pedestrians to walk through the building in the same ceremonial manner that one drives through it. David Basulto of Archdaily.com says this lack of a façade or the exposure of its irregular columns “cast different shadows, giving more character to the façade.” According to Herzog and De Meuron:

“The structure is the architecture. The car park is an organism… of concrete slabs, deployed as floor plates, columns, and ramps [who’s] forms result from a series of forces acting upon each other, a complex overlapping of site and building code requirements, combined with program choices and the aspiration to both integrate with Lincoln Road Mall and to formulate its beginning at the corner of Alton Road.”

The structure also shows the concrete parking slabs varying both horizontally and vertically, using some of the triangulated columns to buttress the cantilevers that can be seen as a “nod to local vernacular” of concrete and overhangs, like in Morris Lapidus’ Tropical modern canopies along Lincoln Road. The use of Class B concrete, with its pockmarks and imperfections, gives a raw element to the building.

Lack of facade allows for openness and connectivity to Lincoln Road below. Image by Iwan Baan. Click image for link.

Concrete structure and triangulate columns allow for cantilevers reminiscent to Morris Lapidus's tropical modern canopies along Lincoln Road.
Image by Iwan Baan. Click image for link.

Lack of facade creates visual connectivity to the city and the elements that are familiar to Lincoln Road.
Image by Iwan Baan. Click image for link.

1111 Lincoln Road serves its urban responsibility as a flexible civil building that functions for many programs as it landmarks an entrance to Lincoln Road mall, supplies the city with additional parking area, and opens itself to the city by supporting event spaces on the higher levels. It creates a suspension in time as one arrives at Lincoln Road and tries to find parking, twirling around the building exposing rare views of the city that give a sense of connection to the city and to Lincoln Road.

Images via: http://www.iwan.com/photo_1111_Lincoln_Road_Miami_Herzog_de_Meuron.php
More Info: www.1111lincolnroad.com
http://www.herzogdemeuron.com/index/projects/complete-works/276-300/279-1111-lincoln-road.html