The EAST, Miami hotel has been unveiled as the first U.S. property from Swire Hotels’ EAST brand and the signature hotel within Swire Properties’ $1.05-billion Brickell City Centre, a nearly 5-million-square-foot mixed-use development with 500,000 square feet of open-air retail space and two residential towers. The 40-story hotel complex houses 352 guestrooms and suites, as well as an outdoor patio with four pools.
A modern design from Miami-based architecture firm Arquitectonica defines the hotel with triangular cutouts at key points on the exterior to frame the monolithic pool and pool deck. Creating an array of views for visitors, the design also maximizes the coastal city’s air flow with the wide, naturally cool decks and patios.
New York-based firm Clodagh Designs also elevates the interiors with a combination of textures and lighting, earthen tones, and sculptural furniture. Bridges and pathways correspond with color and light details to establish visual cues for navigating the expansive hotel. A variety of custom artwork—including photography, sculptures, and paintings—captures Miami scenery in a palette of blue, yellow, white, and amber.
The hotel’s two distinct restaurant and bar experiences were crafted by Los Angeles-based firm Studio Collective. Quinto La Huella includes a woodburning parrilla grill and a sprawling bar in the main dining room, drawing influence from the design of its sister location in Uruguay. Rooftop bar and garden Sugar features a design inspired by the fecund jungles of Southeast Asia with abundant plants and trees.
Framing the fifth floor, the property’s signature Climate Ribbon forms a 150,000-square-foot architectural canopy over the large porch and pool deck that is shared with Quinto La Huella to provide natural cooling and shade. The $30-million undulating trellis composed of steel, fabric, and glass is glazed to protect pedestrians from the elements, and collects three million gallons of rainwater each year.
