Dolphin Mall is Miami-Dade County's largest retail venue and entertainment center. Miami-Dade County (pop. 2,662,874), the southeastern most county on the U.S. mainland, encompasses 34 cities in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area. The mall was originally built in 2001, but has continued to expand each year to currently accommodate more than 240 outlet stores.

In addition to shopping, the mall offers many entertainment options. One of the draws is Ramblas Plaza and stage, a central outdoor space flanked by seven restaurants and a daiquiri bar positioned at the north end. Weekly entertainment events take place on the stage, adding to the festive environment of the mall. Over 36 million people come to the mall every year to shop, dine and be entertained. The attendance has increased each year, proving the mall continues to be a popular destination for locals and a draw for tourists. The revenue generated by the valet vehicle drop-off alone is over $1 million a year.

Because of the consistent annual growth in visitors to the mall, parking capacity was exceeded on most weekends. It was clear that upgrades were necessary to maintain Dolphin Mall as a leading retail venue. The redevelopment projects began in January 2014, and were completed in the fall of 2015.

Project Design
The redevelopment projects included construction of two new surface parking lots; a four-story parking deck; five new restaurants; outdoor dining areas; a restaurant promenade with a second valet drop-off area; and completely renovating Ramblas Plaza.

The newly designed architecture, landscape, paving and lighting were inspired by the center's Latin theme. The mall consists of three districts: Playa (beach), Moda (fashion) and Ramblas (boulevards). Each district portrays its theme by using different colors, materials, lighting, site furnishings and graphics promoting the overall Latin theme.

The design goals for the restaurant expansion and Ramblas Plaza renovation were to seamlessly tie the areas together, while enhancing the arrival experience with updated architecture, graphics, audio, lighting, amenities and landscape. To establish the design theme the Grissim Metz Andriese Associates design team studied the street character of the Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain, and coupled it with the sculptural sleek forms found in South Beach Miami.

The design work consisted of numerous meetings and generations of successive design packages, including scores of precedent images and graphics to refine the design concepts.

One of the major considerations was selecting furnishings and materials that would hold up to the lively and sometimes raucous visitors. A few of the signature elements selected were a colorful stylized wave paving pattern, sculptural sparkling white custom planter/benches and large bold orange tulip shaped trees enhanced within a tropical landscape. Plant materials were used in masses to provide a lush, tropical character. Bed lines were designed in conjunction with the wavy forms of paving, adding color and texture consistent with overriding design concept.

Field Testing and Installation of Pavers and Site Furnishings
After years of regular and intense cleaning, the paving was showing its age. Over 80,000 sq. ft. of new paving was proposed. The mall management actively participated throughout the design and made clear the need for durable and easily cleaned surfaces.

Numerous paver mock-ups and stain tests were performed before the final pavers, joint filler, sealant and cleaners were determined. Clay brick, granite and concrete pavers were considered in the pavement design. Ultimately, concrete pavers from a local manufacturer, Artistic Paver, were selected due to their color options and ease of being cleaned. To aid with construction and layout, a repeating and shifting wave pattern was designed so the contractor could use a full size template for layout. A surveyor was hired to "locate the waves" throughout the 80,000 sq. ft. of pavement. The wave cuts and tolerances of paver sizes were studied in mock-up form. By testing the mock up under direct traffic, the most effective paver cut size tolerances were determined.

All paver edges had to be beveled, including cuts for the wave pattern to prevent chipping. So, in addition to cutting the curvilinear wave alignment, the contractor had to grind a consistent bevel on both sides of the pavers between the delineation of the two colors. The pavers are cleaned on a daily basis.

The mall management also wanted reassurance on the practicality of the site furnishings, specifically the Escofet planters/benches by Landscape Forms, which are custom white pieces. Fortunately, nearby Florida International University had installed several Escofet site furnishings the previous year. The design team visited the university, met with their facilities director and literally scuffed up one of the white benches. The marks were easily removed, convincing mall management that the products met their criteria for ease of cleaning.

Challenging Schedule and Working Environment
It was understood that all tenant establishments had to remain open without interruption throughout construction. To achieve this, the construction managers scheduled the contractors to work between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. In addition, the contractors had to completely protect the tenant storefronts and their outdoor spaces from construction dust and dirt. One example of this diligence was that when the installers were cutting the pavers they used a wet saw inside a mobile containment unit. Final cleaning and sealing of the pavers proved to be a challenge as well. The pavers required thorough cleaning before sealing, due to the dirt and grime that had built up from providing daily accessibility. Several cleaners were tested and the outcome was that two cleaners were required; one to remove general dirt, and the other to remove oils. On average, it took approximately 34 hours to clean, apply and dry two coats of sealer on approximately 800 sq. ft. of pavers at a time. This didn't allow the tenants complete access while open, but the mall management and construction manager worked with all tenants to close specific areas at certain times to minimize any disruption of business.

Latin Energy
The mall celebrated its grand opening on September 15, 2015, successfully serving its first holiday rush period since renovation. With the upgrades to the plaza, additional parking, valet services and new site amenities, the mall is more vibrant than ever. The mall visitors now seek retail deals, great food, drink and entertainment with a greatly improved retail experience with a Latin flare and energy. New projects are already being planned for the upcoming year and will carry on the design initiatives established in this phase of the project.

Project Team
Developer/Owner: Taubman Centers

Original Architect: Beame Architectural Partnership, Miami

Mall Expanison/Redevelopment
Landscape Architect: Grissim Metz Andriese Associates
Neumann/Smith Architecture


Other Project Partners:
Green Landscape Contractors, Inc.
Desai/Nasr Consulting Engineers

E & S Construction Engineers

Swanson Rink
Graber & Associates, LLC,

Consulting Engineering & Science, Inc.
Hillman Dibernardo Leiter Castelli
Selbert Perkins Design 

The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.
UCC Group, Inc.