The Perigon is a 17‑story residential tower on Miami Beach’s Mid‑Beach that leverages a rare dual‑waterfront site between Indian Creek and the Atlantic Ocean. Designed by OMA / Jason Long, the project reframes a typically insular coastal typology through lifted massing, calibrated porosity at ground level, and a bundled formal strategy that prioritizes long views while negotiating environmental and urban constraints.
The Perigon Technical Information
- Architects: OMA / Jason Long
- Location: 5333 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, United States
- Gross Area: 37,900 m2 | 408,000 Sq. Ft.
- Project Years: 2023 – 2027
- Images: © OMA and Luxigon, © OMA and Binyan Studios
We tried to make our building touch the ground as lightly as possible, opening views to the ocean and sky from within the site and beyond.
– Jason Long
Site Conditions and Urban Context
Positioned on a narrow Mid‑Beach parcel that stretches from Indian Creek to the Atlantic Ocean, The Perigon addresses an uncommon condition within Miami Beach’s dense coastal fabric. Rather than privileging a single orientation, the project treats both waterfronts as active determinants of form, view, and circulation. The site’s compressed width intensifies the relationship between building and landscape, demanding a vertical strategy that negotiates proximity to water on both sides.
Collins Avenue, Miami Beach’s primary north–south artery, typically functions as a barrier between the city and the ocean. Residential developments along it often reinforce this separation through fortified podiums and inward‑looking bases. The Perigon counters this pattern by reframing the site as a visual passage, preserving glimpses from the boulevard toward the Atlantic and allowing the public realm to register the presence of water beyond the building footprint.
Flood mitigation requirements and coastal regulations significantly influence the project’s elevation strategy. By lifting the occupied mass approximately 45 feet above grade, the design responds directly to environmental risk while converting a regulatory constraint into spatial openness. The raised volume establishes a clear datum above flood levels and unlocks the ground plane as a porous zone rather than a defensive threshold.
Massing Strategy and Formal Composition
The tower is conceived as a bundle of interrelated volumes rather than a singular extrusion. These component “towers” are subtly rotated in plan to deflect direct views from neighboring properties while expanding sightlines toward Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic horizon. This rotational logic generates a dynamic relationship between orientation and privacy, with each shift in geometry recalibrating visual exposure.
Within the combined mass, organic curves and orthogonal edges coexist, producing a legible tension between fluid and rectilinear forms. This controlled contrast allows the larger building to be read as an aggregation of smaller elements, reducing the perceived scale without fragmenting structural coherence. The articulation of these geometries becomes particularly apparent along the terraces, where curvature alternates with straight edges across the façade.
The upper levels of the building terrace downward, echoing the lifted condition at the base. This stepped profile softens the building’s skyline presence and establishes a gradual transition between city‑facing and ocean‑facing elevations. The result is a volumetric response that mediates between horizontal coastal landscapes and the vertical demands of high‑rise residential density.
Ground Plane, Landscape, and Public Interface
Elevating the primary residential mass frees the ground plane from the burden of supporting enclosure and fortification. The space beneath the building remains visually open, allowing long sightlines from Collins Avenue to pass through the site toward the ocean. This openness challenges the prevailing model of privatized beachfront development by maintaining a degree of urban permeability.
The base of the bundled towers is strategically carved to create a defined entry sequence and a series of shaded exterior amenities oriented toward the beachfront. These voids operate as spatial relief within the larger form, admitting light and air while providing transitional zones between public circulation and resident‑only spaces. The underside of the lifted volume becomes an inhabited threshold rather than a residual shadow.
Landscape design reinforces this spatial logic through paths that trace the geometries of the architecture above. Circulation routes braid and diverge, delineating gardens, water features, and quieter pockets within the site. This geometric echo between ground and building establishes continuity across scales, allowing landscape and structure to read as components of a single spatial system.
4. Residential Organization and Spatial Typologies
Eighty‑two residential units are organized within interlocking floorplates shaped by zig‑zag geometries. These configurations generate elongated plans with multiple corner conditions, expanding exposure to light and views while avoiding repetitive, single‑orientation layouts. The geometry introduces variation within a consistent structural framework, producing distinct spatial identities across levels.
Floor‑to‑ceiling glazing extends living spaces toward broad terraces, where alternating curved and straight edges register the underlying massing strategy on the façade. This rhythm tempers the scale of the building while modulating the degree of enclosure experienced within each unit. Terraces operate as spatial buffers, mediating between interior privacy and expansive coastal vistas.
The range of unit sizes, from studios to large multi‑bedroom residences, reflects an ambition to combine the separations and intimacy associated with villa living with the efficiencies of vertical organization. Larger units exploit the irregular floorplate to create sequences of both open panoramic rooms and more secluded interior zones, demonstrating how complex massing can directly inform domestic spatial quality.
About OMA
OMA is an international architecture practice with a significant presence in New York, where the studio is led by Partner Jason Long. The office operates with a research‑driven, interdisciplinary approach, engaging in urban, cultural, and residential projects across a wide range of scales. OMA’s work emphasizes formal experimentation, contextual responsiveness, and the integration of environmental and social considerations into contemporary architectural practice.
Credits and Additional Notes
- Structural engineers: B&J Consulting Engineers
- MEP consultants: Osborn Engineering
- Landscape designers: Gustafson Porter+Bowman; Architectural Alliance Landscape (Executive Architect, Landscape)
- Client: Mast Capital and Starwood Capital Group
- Construction company: Moss (General Contractor)
- Executive Architect: ODP Architects
- Interior Design: Tara Bernerd & Partners
- Lighting: Schwinghammer Lighting
- Civil Engineer: Schwebke‑Shiskin & Associates
- Traffic Engineer: Kimley‑Horn and Associates
- Vertical Transportation: VDA Vertical Transportation
- Code/Life Safety: SLS Consulting
- Security: Skytech
- Waterproofing: Paramount Consulting and Engineering
