Essence of Miami – Odabashian rugs at The Moore Miami

Set in the heart of Miami’s Design District, The Moore hotel is a cultural hub. Denna Jones takes a look at the fitting new rug designs by artist Johanna Boccardo in collaboration with rug brand Odabashian

SMOOTH-LIMBED Elastika—a sculpture by Zaha Hadid—climbs the light-filled atrium of The Moore Miami (formerly Moore Furniture building) like an exotic multi-legged organism. Craig Robins, a native Floridian and founder of real estate development company Dacra, purchased the building in 1994 as the centrepiece of his vision to create a design district in Miami. Eleven years later he installed Hadid’s sculpture in the still-empty building. Now, thirty years later, his vision for a diverse yet cohesive design district cultivated through commerce allied to public art and design is a reality.

The Moore Miami makes its 2024 public debut as a destination that includes the District’s only luxury hotel, a private club, retail, and the Elastika restaurant, named in honour of the sculpture that hovers over its dining space. Joining the venue’s prestigious roster of art and design is a rug collection designed by artist Johanna Boccardo and commissioned and woven by Miami rug company Odabashian.

Now an influential international design hub and cultural destination, a hundred years ago the Design District was a small town on the outskirts of Miami. Architect and property speculator David P. Davis built the Moore Furniture Building in 1921 with an eye to the future success of the area. Less than a century later, Robins furthered Davis’s vision, adopting the principles of New Urbanism and the tenets of architectural preservation to save historic buildings like the Moore and incorporate them into a landscape of urban diversity, nature and ‘walkability’. Here, leisurely promenades are prioritised over car culture.

These core beliefs align with the practice of artist Johanna Boccardo. Robins’s definition of ‘true luxury’ as the ability to experience nature is evident in each of Boccardo’s unique rug designs. Born in Venezuela, she is a long-term Miami resident. She approached her commission by taking what she describes as a ‘promenade’ through the District. ‘The experience was rich and layered. I was listening to jazz music and taking all the scenery in—plant life, art installations and textures,’ she says. ‘I looked up to the sky as much as I looked beneath my feet. I photographed everything that stole my gaze. The rugs encapsulate the vibrant essence of the Design District, bridging the gap between the outdoors and indoors. The rugs are filled with subtle subtropical elements designed to evoke a subconscious sense of place.’

Boccardo’s rugs feel ‘invigorating and harmonious, enriching the space with a touch of Miami’s unique character and exuberance’, says an Odabashian representative. Several designs feature cameos of public art commissioned by Dacra that she experienced on her promenade, and all of them express elements of Miami’s subtropical location. The rugs are found throughout The Moore Miami (with the exception of the Elastika restaurant which has a tiled floor), including the private club, the reception and residential-style suites in the hotel, lounges and bar areas, private meeting areas and social spaces like the karaoke room, library, game room, and coworking spaces.

Woven with New Zealand wool with viscose details, some designs also feature natural undyed wool. Boccardo’s optical effects, shadows and textures create an ever-shifting experiential illusion. These features, plus 3D-effect pile carving, ‘bring Boccardo’s designs to life’ says Odabashian. The designs, materials and techniques that create these life-like illusions circle back to the experiential sensation of ‘life’ manifest in Hadid’s sculpture. The inclusion of the rug collection in The Moore Miami’s ensemble of public art and design continues the overarching vision that has created a world-class environment of creative community in Miami’s Design District.