MiMo: Miami Modern Revealed [Hardcover]

Eric P. Nash (Author), Randall C. Robinson Jr. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2004

MiMo: Miami Modern Revealed is the first comprehensive survey of the rich postwar architecture that epitomizes the romance and energy that is Miami. Well-known for its revitalized South Beach Deco architecture, Miami's vibrant strain of modern architecture combines attention to space, form, and innovative design with a nuanced subtropical exoticism particular to the region, the gateway between the States and Latin America. From humble motels to sprawling oceanside resorts, this lively style also thrives in the city's civic, domestic, and commercial architecture. MiMo tracks the history and development of the Magic City from the days of nightclub acts and swank hotels to the advent of the crystalline downtown skyscrapers, including detailed overviews of work by Morris Lapidus, Gilbert Fein, and regional masters Alfred Browning Parker, Norman M. Giller, and others. Preservation-minded, the authors list the important buildings which did not survive decades of redevelopment, and conclude with a chapter on the effort to protect threatened MiMo masterpieces. Hundreds of recent and period photographs from the heyday of Miami glamour complete this celebration of some of the hottest architecture around.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Eric P. Nash has been a researcher and writer for the New York Times Magazine since 1986. He is the author of several books about architecture and design, including Manhattan Skyscrapers (1-56898-181-3), The Destruction of Penn Station , New York's 50 Best

Randall C. Robinson Jr. is coauthor of Miami Architecture: A Guide to the Metropolitan Area . He lives in Miami Beach.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; 1St Edition edition (August 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811842045
• ISBN-13: 978-0811842044
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 9.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #738,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rediscovering an era, October 2, 2004

By 

Richard Beaubien "co-author of Discovering So... (Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: MiMo: Miami Modern Revealed (Hardcover)

America's mid-century modern architecture spans three decades of the post World War II period, from the Atomic Age through the Space Age. An architecture that mainly revolved around the seriousness of the International Style, its theories peaked in 1958 with the New York City Seagram Building, a glass-covered, steel skeleton-framed skyscraper. Mies van der Rohe's "less is more" principle became the guiding light for a large majority of American architects in the mid-twentieth century.

In response to the perceived dogma and humorlessness of the International Style, a Popular Modernism began to take hold in Southern Florida. An "Architecture of Joy" was born, which of course was decried as frivolous and crass by the architectural establishment. In Miami Beach, resort architecture was already well underway, and its vacation state of mind easily stepped into this style. It was uniquely American, futuristic, and fun, full of audacious angles and lines, pastel colors, synthetic materials, cheese-hole and accordion folded walls, stainless steel, boomerangs and stairways to nowhere.

Popular Modernism is known by various names, including Populuxe (popular and deluxe) and Googie. In Miami and Miami Beach, it is called "MiMo," an abbreviation of Miami Modern.

This is a wonderful book that covers its subject well. Its not so large that it becomes uncomfortable to read while sitting in an easy chair but still large enough to deserve it's place on the living room table. The layout is exceptional and reflects the playfulness of the subject without becoming a confusing mishmash. The font is a bit uncommon but lends itself to the spirit of the endeavor. The text by Eric Nash and Randall Robinson is crisp and informative. Oh, and the photos are a great!

Once in a while an architecture book comes along to show us how it's done and this book is one.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MiMo Survey, September 22, 2004

By 

Architecture Guy "architectureguy" (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: MiMo: Miami Modern Revealed (Hardcover)

Excellent survey of MiMo architecture, past and present. Valuable resource for those with an interest and user-friendly enough for the coffee table.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very nice book., April 9, 2009

By 

Jose Lopez "Jose Lopez" (Miami,Florida USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: MiMo: Miami Modern Revealed (Hardcover)

Love this book, So much history, So beautiful buildings this was before the Ugly buildings were and are being made, the hideous mega skyscrapers and towers that now dot downtown miami that you cannot even see the sun. This was development without the crazy ideas.