Laurinda Spear
Founding Principal
Miami Connection
Spear's designs, including the Perez Art Museum Miami's resilient landscape with 64,000 subtropical plants adapted to rising seas and the iconic South Beach parking garage evoking hanging gardens, have transformed Miami's urban aesthetic and environmental approach. Through Arquitectonica, she pioneered a bold modernism synonymous with Miami's renaissance, from skyline-defining skyscrapers to Ransom Everglades School buildings, exporting the city's architectural identity worldwide. Her work fosters ecologically sound public spaces that blend architecture with nature, enhancing social and economic vitality in South Florida.
About
Born in 1950 and raised in Miami, Laurinda Spear earned her Master of Architecture from Columbia University in 1975 and later a Master of Landscape Architecture from Florida International University in 2006. She co-founded the influential architecture firm Arquitectonica in 1977 with Bernardo Fort-Brescia and others, gaining acclaim for iconic projects like the Babylon Apartments and structures featured in Miami Vice. In 2005, she established ArquitectonicaGEO to focus on sustainable landscape architecture, master planning, and urban design emphasizing ecological resilience. A longtime Coconut Grove resident married to Fort-Brescia, she continues as Founding Principal at both Arquitectonica and ArquitectonicaGEO, shaping global design from her Miami base.