Designing an Audacious Real Estate Experience for Waldorf Astoria Miami

How can one building elevate an entire city?

Background

The pandemic prompted a revolution in real estate. And in Miami, already gaining momentum with tech and finance leaders, the stakes couldn’t be higher. With the new 100-story Waldorf Astoria residential building ready to rise, developers at PMG had to both sell this iconic building and also prove to high-net-worth buyers that Miami is rising, too. In support of this intent to “Elevate Miami,” we created an interactive sales experience unlike anything in the real estate space.

When you bring the physical and the digital worlds together, it makes it all more real and more immersive.

Ryan Shear
Managing Partner • PMG

Journey

Our spatial designers mapped pathways for an immense 20,000-square-foot space and crafted a journey that takes buyers “outside in”—from the city, to the neighborhood, to the building, to your new living room.

The experience begins with a primer film that sets context for the changing city skyline, and as you exit the screening room, you’re met by data about Miami, displayed as art and projected onto sculptural wall elements.

Then, you take control of a projection-mapped model of the downtown district, with the ability to explore the cultural, culinary and entertainment highlights of the neighborhood.

Next, you stand beneath a towering scale model, twenty-four feet tall and stretching the space vertically. Inside the model unit itself, an immersive experience called “Coffee in the Clouds” surrounds you with virtual views, captured by drone and set onto floor-to-ceiling LED screens. Agents can pull up any view from any apartment, on demand and instantly—and our custom tablet app allows buyers to customize units in real time.

A primer film shows how iconic buildings redefine skylines

Text: "It starts with an immersive film that shows how iconic buildings redefine skylines."

Text: "A special model unit features windows replaced by digital screens that can display any view in the building, day or night."

Outcomes

Waldorf Astoria Miami was scheduled to break ground in late 2023, but sales were so strong that PMG broke ground over a year early. For a project of this scale, it’s an incredible testament to both the power of the building and to the strength of the sales experience. Not only has the experience inspired buyers—it’s also become a destination all its own, with visitors stepping into the spectacle to explore its most Instagrammable aspects.