MiMo: Miami Modern, the City's Own Style
Morris Lapidus, the Fontainebleau and a staircase to nowhere. What Miami Modern architecture is, how to recognize it, and where to see it in Miami today.
Luxom Studio · LUXOM Developments
· 2 min read · Last reviewed
Key takeaways
- MiMo, short for Miami Modern, is the regional style of modern architecture that spread across Miami and Miami Beach after World War II, roughly from the mid 1940s to the late 1960s.
- Morris Lapidus opened the Fontainebleau in Miami Beach in 1954, with a curving facade and a lobby staircase famously known as the staircase to nowhere.
- Lapidus summed up his approach with the motto too much is never enough.
- MiMo features include curves, cheese hole walls, angled roofs, breeze block screens and glass shaded from the sun.
Editor's note
Miami has its own architectural style, and most people don't know its name. This is the guide we send to anyone who comments MIMO on our reel: what Miami Modern is, how to recognize it, and where to see it.
MiMo Is Miami's Own Modernism
Miami Modern, shortened to MiMo, is the style that spread across Miami and Miami Beach after World War II, as the region boomed with hotels, motels, apartments and offices. It took the clean lines of international modernism and adapted them to tourism, the tropical sun and a sense of fun.
The name was coined much later, as preservationists began to recognize the style as something worth protecting.
Morris Lapidus and the Staircase to Nowhere
Morris Lapidus is the architect most associated with MiMo. In 1954 he opened the Fontainebleau on the oceanfront in Miami Beach, with a long curving facade and a grand lobby staircase that led only to a small coat room. Guests walked up it to make an entrance, and it became famous as the staircase to nowhere.
His motto was too much is never enough. Critics of the time dismissed his work as kitsch. Today the Fontainebleau and his neighboring Eden Roc are celebrated landmarks.
How to Recognize a MiMo Building
MiMo has a recognizable vocabulary: sweeping curves, walls punched with round openings often called cheese holes, angled and folded roofs, decorative breeze block screens, bold signage, and deep overhangs that shade the glass from the sun.
Many of those features were not just decoration. Shading, cross ventilation and breeze block screens are climate tools, the same ones we still use on a modern Miami home. Our piece on orienting a home for Miami light explains how.
Where to See MiMo in Miami Today
Along Biscayne Boulevard in Miami's Upper East Side, the MiMo/BiBo historic district protects a strip of mid century motels and commercial buildings. In Miami Beach, start at the Fontainebleau and Eden Roc and continue north toward the North Beach resort area.
MiMo is a reminder that Miami has always built for its own climate and its own personality. For the earlier chapter of that story, read the Miami Beach Art Deco walking guide.
Pull quote
MiMo took modernism and made it Miami.
Filed under
Questions about MiMo Miami Modern architecture
01What is MiMo architecture?
MiMo, or Miami Modern, is the style of resort and commercial modernism that developed in Miami and Miami Beach after World War II. It took international modernism and adapted it to tourism, the tropics and a sense of fun.
02Who designed the Fontainebleau?
Morris Lapidus designed the Fontainebleau, which opened in Miami Beach in 1954. He also designed the neighboring Eden Roc. His lobby staircase, which led to a small coat room, became known as the staircase to nowhere.
03How do you recognize a MiMo building?
Look for sweeping curves, walls punched with round cheese hole openings, angled or folded roofs, decorative breeze block screens, bold signage and deep overhangs shading the glass.
04Where can you see MiMo in Miami?
Along Biscayne Boulevard in Miami's Upper East Side, where the MiMo/BiBo historic district protects a strip of mid century motels and buildings, and in Miami Beach, from the Fontainebleau and Eden Roc to the North Beach resort area.
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Written by Luxom Studio · LUXOM Developments
The design and development studio behind LUXOM residences in Coconut Grove, Miami
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