Plans for Miami Beach’s First Underwater Public Sculpture Park and Artificial Reef Announced by Ximena Caminos, Founder of BlueLab Preservation Society in Collaboration with Coral Morphologic and University of Miami Researchers and supported by the City of Miami Beach
The ReefLine will be Designed by Shohei Shigematsu/OMA and Function as an Artificial Reef to Help Protect and Preserve Miami Beach’s Marine Life and Enhance Coastal Resilience
BlueLab Preservation Society reveals plans for The ReefLine, a new 7-mile underwater public sculpture park, snorkel trail, and artificial reef located off Miami Beach’s shoreline. The large-scale environmental public art project has been conceived by cultural placemaker Ximena Caminos who will serve as the project’s Artistic Director. The ReefLine’s masterplan will be designed by architect Shohei Shigematsu/OMA in close consultation with a team of expert marine biologists, researchers, architects, and coastal engineers. The ReefLine will provide critical habitat for endangered reef organisms, promoting biodiversity and enhancing coastal resilience.
Featuring environmentally-functioning artworks by major international artists and designers, The ReefLine will be completed in several phases, with the first mile slated to open in December 2021.
For the masterplan, OMA has designed a geometric, concrete modular unit that will be deployed and stacked from South Beach to the north, following the topography of the seabed. The living breakwater is the connective tissue for the overall masterplan and will be punctuated by a series of site-specific installations.
The first phase of the ReefLine will open with permanent installations by Argentine conceptual artist Leandro Erlich (b. 1973) and architect Shohei Shigematsu/OMA. Artists Ernesto Neto (b. 1964, Brazil) and Agustina Woodgate (b. 1981, Argentina) have been tapped for subsequent commissions.
Erlich will create an underwater incarnation of his popular sand-sculpted “traffic jam”, which was commissioned by the City of Miami Beach during Art Week Miami Beach 2019. Titled Concrete Coral, the site-specific installation will reframe cars and trucks—a symbol of the emissions that endanger our planet—as new vehicles for environmental change.
OMA/Shigematsu’s sculpture will explore the nature of weightlessness underwater. The stair, a rudimentary architecture element suggestive of directionality and movement, is taken out of its usual context and transformed into an underwater folly. Like the circular formation of the atoll, a series of sinuous spiral stairs create a three-dimensional structure reminiscent of marine life. The organic form will provide layered zones for coral reef growth and interstitial spaces for exploration. The stairs will rotate around a central forum for underwater gatherings and activities.
The ReefLine was conceived by BlueLab Preservation Society and Coral Morphologic and will be developed in collaboration with the City of Miami Beach and researchers from the University of Miami. The project received concept funding and support from the Knight Foundation’s Art Challenge Award 2019 and a Blavatnik Family Foundation grant, as well as an endorsement from the XPRIZE Foundation.
Ximena Caminos, said: “This series of artist-designed and scientist-informed artificial reefs will demonstrate to the world how tourism, artistic expression, and the creation of critical habitat can be aligned. The ReefLine is a singular investment in civic infrastructure, public art and environmental protection that will pay dividends over the coming decades and attract ecologically-minded tourists and art lovers to Miami Beach.”
“Miami Beach has a world-renown environment and beaches, and has in recent years established itself as a true international arts and culture destination,” said City of Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber. “So we are excited to welcome this resilient, unique project and continue collaborating with the best of the scientific and artistic community to elevate our community.”
Shohei Shigematsu, OMA Partner said: “We are excited to collaborate again with Ximena on a project that brings together culture and community. The ReefLine is a unique project that brings attention to and mitigates the dangers of climate change in Miami Beach, while simultaneously enriching the city’s vivid art scene. We look forward to collaborating with a diverse group of experts and professionals on our first underwater cultural masterplan and sculpture.”
Construction is anticipated to commence in late summer 2021 with the first deployment scheduled for November 2021.
This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media