This pair of high-rises evokes Miami’s distinctive vernacular, but with a twist – a literal one. The Bjarke Ingels Group project is the first in the U.S. to use the “twisted tower” typology more often seen in the flashier parts of Asia. Slanted concrete columns create a corkscrew superstructure, but the vertical elevator cores are reinforced with thick steel plates to resist torsion and hold the buildings together. To integrate them with their setting, the firm incorporated such local elements as projecting brise-soleil balconies, floor-to-ceiling windows and a topographic stone landscape richly carpeted in native flora.

Project: The Grove at Grand Bay

Location: Miami, U.S.

Firm: Bjarke Ingels Group, Denmark

Team: Bjarke Ingels with Thomas Christoffersen, Leon Rost, Beat Schenk and Ziad Shehab