Lost Miami: Stories and Secrets Behind Magic City Ruins by David Bulit

Author:David Bulit [Bulit, David]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2015-08-30T16:00:00+00:00

6

AMERTEC BUILDING

In 1967, Chayo Frank graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in architecture and was tasked with designing an office building for his father’s architectural woodworking and store fixture manufacturing business, Amertec-Granada, Inc. The office building he was tasked with constructing was to be placed in the center of the existing U -shaped factory. At just twenty-three years old and fresh from having studied under Bruce Goff, an innovator and large contributor to organic architecture, Frank set out to build what is now thought to be a hidden and unique architectural landmark in Miami.

While designing the Amertec Building, Chayo Frank did pencil compositions that consisted of studies in the use of points, lines and forms. His approach was to move in a continuous flow; no elements of the design were pre-established, and no thought was given to what should be done next. He considered every point, line and form part of a beautiful entity and ever-evolving design that was spontaneous and intuitive.

Approved by his father, the design he established developed from an approach that involved his love for the exotic beauty of tropical climates and his affinity for designing curvilinear forms. Each form was constructed by spraying concrete over “metal cages” of curved reinforcing bars and wire mesh. The water flumes on the exterior of the building were entirely free form, sculpturally connecting the primary forms of the building.

While the building was being painted, Chayo Frank began developing an idea. He wanted his design to transcend architecture as a building and become what he called an “organic entity,” which involved a combination of all aspects of design to resemble an object of nature. To achieve this, he used metallic paints that enabled sunlight to reflect off the textures on the exterior of the building, giving it a more life-like quality.

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