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A structure can take on a life of its own, particularly when it is the foundation for a community's new directions. 8333 Downtown Doral, a 150,000-square-foot, six-story, Class A facility and freestanding garage, is the first for-lease office building in Downtown Doral, a 120-acre, master-planned community that is destined to become the heart of Doral, FL.
While the building was created to help establish a new character and image for the city, such lofty goals had some very definitive constraints; most specifically, to create a dense, pedestrian urban environment in the midst of an existing suburban planned office park – and work within the bounds of existing fixed buildings and infrastructure.
Fortunately, the building responded to vehicular traffic patterns by taking advantage of the primary view corridor. A gently curved southern facade makes the most of available open space. On the structure's southwest corner sits an architectural icon, an octagon crowned by cylindrical aluminum rings; when illuminated at night, they serve as a focal point for this unique project. In addition, the location of the parking structure creates a boundary between the existing industrial area to the north and the newly established pedestrian environment designed as a plaza to the south.
FINALIST:
8333 Downtown Doral, Doral, FL
CATEGORY: NEW CONSTRUCTION
Not to be outdone by aesthetics alone, the project is scheduled to earn 37 credits for LEED Gold certification, one of the first to be recognized in the Doral area. It has already achieved a "Designed to ENERGY STAR" designation. To achieve such honors, the building features a cutting-edge energy management and monitoring system; water-cooled, self-contained HVAC units on every floor; energy recovery units; high-performance glass; and building materials purchased from local vendors. Involvement with the property management team through both the design and construction phases ensured a smooth transition to optimal operations once the building was completed, according to the 8333 team.
Although the project team claims the building to be merely a local catalyst, 8333 Downtown Doral truly represents the possibilities for any community looking to redefine itself.
