Laurinda Spear and Bernardo Fort-Brescia

The rapper Pitbull said it best: “There’s nothing like Miami’s heat.” And that heat extends to the city’s real estate market, one that Arquitectonica has taken a leading role in shaping — literally. 

Founded in 1977 by husband-and-wife team Bernardo Fort-Brescia and Laurinda Spear, Arquitectonica has established itself as one of the most prolific architectural firms in South Florida. That’s particularly true in Miami, where 14 of the city’s 50 tallest buildings have been designed by Arquitectonica, according to Bloomberg. 

Some of the firm’s most notable Miami commissions include Brickell City Centre, a 150,000-square-foot mall with areas for working, eating and shopping. Arquitectonica also designed a 13,000-square-foot studio space for the University of Miami School of Architecture, and the Cipriani Residences Miami, a series of three luxury high-rise buildings.

Arquitectonica is adding another condo tower to its portfolio, having announced toward the end of 2024 that it teamed with design studio Yabu Pushelberg for Michelin-star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s first-ever residential building, developed with Terra and Lion Development Group. Slated for completion in 2027, the 48-story luxury condominium will feature amenities such as a spa, a yoga studio, a rooftop pool, and an in-residence dining program curated by the chef.   

Arquitectonica also designed Five Park, a 48-story residential tower in Miami Beach completed in 2024, the first residential tower in the area in more than a decade, according to Florida YIMBY. Arquitectonica was the lead architect on the project, working alongside interior designers Gabellini Sheppard, Anda Andrei and Meyer Davis.

When tackling a new design, the Arquitectonica team works to make the project as attractive as it can be — within reason. 

“We are always thinking of the factors that make a building interesting, yet viable,” Fort-Brescia previously told Commercial Observer. “We begin with the rational — always — because architecture has a rational side, a logical side, a functional side. And it has an intuitive side, a more artistic side. We always balance between them. We were not interested in being ‘paper architects’ who draw designs but never see the building. We want to build.