Condominiums and runway apparel are often discussed using the same vocabulary, an indication of their marked resemblance and their deeper connection as expressions of a person’s individualism. In both condo design and fashion design, only the facades can be treated; there is very little room for flexibility within the structure itself—most of the aesthetic legwork is carried out by exterior facades.
Arquitectonica’s design for the SLS tower in Brickell shares with a dress by Etro featured in their Fall 2013 collection a mechanical, repetitious effect that creates the illusion of static motion. A dramatically different gown by Carlos Miele resembles the torquing of the Grove at Grand Bay, designed by Bjarke Ingels with Raymond Jungles, which twists to maximize its views and sun exposure. The towers freeze movement into their facades to resemble effects natural to design at the scale of the body.
Although condo design can be efficiently expressive by varying the plans of successive floor plates, vertical structural elements can also be used to create a striking resemblance to the clothed human body. Zaha Hadid Architects’ One Thousand Museum expresses a symmetrical exoskeleton mirrored by Jill Stuart’s graphic dress, and Herzog and De Meuron’s Jade Signature makes use of an incisive patterning cut into concrete that picks up on this visually-sliced Carlos Miele-designed dress.
