The 2025 HD Awards Project Winners
BEYOND HOSPITALITY
Cult Gaia, Miami
Like the Los Angeles original, Cult Gaia’s flagship store in the Miami Design District is a coveted destination for breezy ready-to-wear women’s apparel, shoes, and accessories. But this time around, the 1,500-square-foot space transcends mere product displays. The A-framed casita-style structure first catches the eye with its façade, clad in a blue-toned Tree of Life mural referencing both 18th-century Indian textiles and the founder’s Persian heritage. It’s just as dreamy inside. A concrete female nude sculpture and a 14-foot-high Banyan tree are planted underneath two domes juxtaposing garments that dangle from unlacquered brass rods and the dressing room area, which is composed of chiseled sandstone blocks calling to mind caves. Visitors can also head to the bespoke sofa or matcha bar. “Miami has become the epitome of experiential architecture and interior design in a place you would least expect to find it: a retail shop,” points out Jess Nahon, co-principal of Sugarhouse. “This project represents a new generation of design, and it has disrupted the typical notions of what shopping should be.”
Architecture, Interior Design, and Purchasing Firm: Sugarhouse, New York | Owner: Cult Gaia