Sole Mia
NORTH MIAMI, FLORIDA
A New Master Planned Community in North Miami.
Sole Mia, a joint venture between Turnberry Associates and Lefrak, is an 183 acre master planned community rising in the City of North Miami. The property features a diverse mix of residential and commercial complexes, a large medical campus, and 37 acres of community parks and recreation spaces including two 10 acre crystal lagoons with white sand beaches and a variety of water sports. Yazi is tasked with developing all of the wayfinding and signage criteria for Sole Mia, including drafting an amendment to the City of North Miami's sign ordinance, and creating wayfinding strategies, philosophies, and specifications for the site as well as both public and private developments within the boundaries of the project.
ESTABLISHING THE FRAMEWORK
Our first step in the process was to draft an amendment to the City of North Miami sign ordinance that would grant authority to the Sole Mia property owners association (POA) to regulate all signage and wayfinding within the development. This included the preparation and creation of a detailed written sign criteria that spelled out the POA's intent, philosophy, rules, regulations, and process for regulating all signage related to Sole Mia. The two items combined allow the ownership to carefully control all signage and wayfinding in the project, and gave them authority to develop their own wayfinding graphic standards that support the philosophy and sense of place that characterizes Sole Mia. The approved Sole Mia standards are a bit more restrictive than the City sign code, and strive to insure a high level of design and execution for all signage related to the project. The result is a winning combination for both the Owners and the City—since the developers are allowed to carefully control the property's graphic environment while also elevating the quality of wayfinding within a large and prominent City subdivision.
SETTING THE STANDARD
Yazi developed a comprehensive signage and wayfinding criteria for the project that supports and advances the Sole Mia brand, project standards, and philosophy. The criteria includes specific design attributes for all property wayfinding signs, as well as extensive guidelines for all commercial, community and public space signage within Sole Mia. The aim of the criteria is to provide a design vocabulary that promotes a branded and uniform system for signing public pathways and properties that is both effective and expressive of the community. Building identity sign standards define allowable signage and preferred design standards based on the size, height, frontage, tenant, and use of the building. Standards for commercial establishment signs include facade, freestanding, under canopy, and awning variations that allow future establishments to effectively sign and brand their spaces while adhering to property standards for placement, quality and presentation.
FLEXIBILITY AND CONSISTENCY
The Sole Mia master plan includes a wide variety of potential commercial, residential, retail, community, and entertainment developments. The wayfinding and signage criteria that Yazi developed includes specifications for a diverse menu of different sign types that address the potential and future needs of the Owner, developers and tenants. The purpose of these specifications is to create a uniform standard for sign layouts, sizes, characteristics, and materials with common design elements that reinforce the Sole Mia brand and sense of place. The guidelines encourage developers and tenants to think creatively about signage and wayfinding, while requiring that they adhere to certain property-wide standards and characteristics.