Design architects Prof. Carie Penabad and Prof. Adib Cure of CÚRE & PENABAD have collaborated with former School of Architecture graduate and developer Laura Weinstein-Berman on the PEACH PROJECT for Catalyst Miami.
In contemporary Miami, the concept of mixed-use residential buildings on small infill lots is scarce. If the city is to address both the challenges of climate and affordability, it must densify its patchwork of neighborhoods through incremental growth that allows more participants to benefit from current development trends. To this end, the PEACH PROJECT is developed along NW 14th Street in Overtown. Once a thriving black neighborhood in the city, urban and land use policies following World War II severed Overtown from its surroundings and initiated a period of decline that continues to this day. This project seeks to invest in Overtown by creating a headquarters for CATALYST Miami, a non-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering powerful, grassroots networks in the community. The project creates a new, compact, urban courtyard building that contains a micro-retail space at grade, offices, and a court at the second floor, and three affordable housing units on the upper stories. Conceived on a 3,500 sq.ft. parcel (approximately half the size of an average residential lot) the building presents a new infill model for the future growth of Miami.
Recognizing its excellence, the PEACH PROJECT received the 2023 AIA Miami Unbuilt Design Award of Merit and the 2023 AIA Florida Unbuilt Design Award of Excellence. Groundbreaking for this transformative project is scheduled for February 2024.
Prof. Carie Pendabad and Prof. Adib Cure partner with alumna Laura Weinstein-Berman on PEACH PROJECT
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