Designs Revealed for WOMA Mixed-use Development

Developer Uribe Schwarzkopf and award-winning architects MVRDV have revealed the colourful design of WOMA, a mixed-use building in Wynwood Norte, Miami. 

WOMA will feature 163 homes alongside offices and retail, with textile-inspired façades wrapping a porous stack of small blocks – a design that MVRDV says both stands out and builds upon the existing character of its neighbourhood. Located on the site of a former coffee roasting company, WOMA’s design draws directly from Wynwood’s heritage and is rooted in the neighbourhood’s industrial legacy.

Designed by MVRDV with Miami-based Kobi Karp as architect of record, WOMA will create a living and working community centred on fashion, art, and craft. WOMA targets buy-to-live homeowners with mid-market housing ranging from micro-studios to 3-bedroom apartments, offices, a co-working business centre, and retail units suited to a wide variety of different businesses. This community is supported by a rooftop landscape of amenities including a swimming pool, sports terrace, and pet park, among other things.

MVRDV founding partner Jacob van Rijs, said: “WOMA is neighbourhood-oriented not just visually but also functionally. It prioritises human scale and pedestrian connectivity, while integrating abundant greenery, neighbourhood retail, amenities, and a diverse residential mix – becoming a place where people can meet, interact, and feel part of the community of Wynwood Norte.”

With most of its surroundings comprising low-rise, small-scale buildings, the design is built up from a collection of stacked blocks, maintaining the neighbourhood’s scale. The building is set back from the edge of the lot, allowing for a generous landscaped public space at street level. From here, broad staircases ascend through gaps between the stacked blocks towards a raised public plaza, which is the cultural heart of the building, serving as a flexible space for fashion shows, exhibitions, and fundraisers – while offering a place for the community to gather between events.

Also fronting this plaza are four specially designed atelier-apartments, intended as live-work spaces for artists, designers, and other creatives. These homes will not only provide them with space to develop their work, but also a ready-made platform for showcasing it to the public through double-height front windows.

On one corner of the building is a particularly notable example of how the building embraces the local creative community. Bolivian-born fashion designer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Rosita Hurtado, who has worked out of Miami for more than 20 years and owns the property where WOMA will be developed, will have her new headquarters in WOMA. Occupying the street-level commercial space at the intersection of NW 5th Avenue and NW 32nd Street, her studio will be marked by a special façade inspired by her work, while direct access onto the development’s central courtyard will provide a convenient setup for putting on shows.

See more of the design of WOMA here.