Firm • Environmental Modernism
Daniel Garcia Architecture & Design, LLC (DGAD) is an emerging, Miami-based boutique architectural firm, whose reputation is quickly expanding with its clients and the local community. Most recently, the firm was recognized in the 2018 Spring Edition of the AIA Florida/Caribbean Architect Magazine for the Bonita-Grove House project in Coconut Grove, Florida. The firm was originally founded by Daniel Garcia and his wife, Mercedes Garcia, both of whom are Miami natives. They share a passion for architecture and design, the desire to improve the built environment, and the need to positively impact the urban and environmental context for future generations.
Since its inception in 2009, the firm’s purpose has been to enrich the lives of its clients through environmentally-sensitive and modern design that responds to the local condition and reinterprets the vernacular of the place. The firm’s creative solutions place an emphasis on being practical to satisfy the specific needs of its clients and projects. Good design is a product of a strong collaborative process in which the client plays a crucial role. DGAD is committed to achieving meaningful connections to place and context, and striking a rich balance between aesthetics and environmental consciousness, that help foster connections and a sense of community. DGAD is proud of its commitment to excellent customer service, the highest level of design, adding value to the projects, and a keen attention to detail.
Services • Architecture of Place
DGAD is a full-service architecture, interior design, and planning firm. Services offered by the firm include basic architecture and interior design services, site selection and analysis, feasibility studies, programming workshops, space planning, conceptual designs, furniture design, design of custom-built features, and various other construction phase services. DGAD’s portfolio includes all types of buildings and project scales. The firm specializes in residential, commercial, corporate, mixed-use, and retail buildings. The services are comprehensive and always encompass the values of the firm’s philosophy, that a building must be appropriate to its place, its time, and responsive to the climate. DGAD’s buildings attempt to respond to the climate via active and passive methods to control light, breezes, and the building’s micro-environment. DGAD’s vision is not nostalgic, but rather innovative. The firm strives to keep up with technology and the cultural context to develop designs that are valuable to the client and ultimately withstand the test of time.
Process • Design with Consciousness
Design is an elaborate process that involves finding the balance between creativity and practicality. It involves understanding the construction market and its changes, balancing aesthetics with cost, and providing superior service while still being cost-competitive. DGAD’s philosophy is that good design is a result of working in close collaborations with clients, consultants, engineers, other design professionals, construction managers, developers, and jurisdictional authorities to study and develop integrated solutions for each project. Good design does not occur by chance, but rather with consciousness. For DGAD the process is fairly straight-forward but highly customizable. Each project may require an emphasis on a different area, but in general, all projects commence with analysis of the client’s needs and desires, the project site, and the local social and cultural context. Budget and schedule are extremely important in order to manage realistic expectations and a establish a framework that informs critical design decisions. During the design process the client’s input is of utmost importance to ensuring a successful project. Together with the context the client’s input will provide the inspirations for the final design. With the advent an proliferation of BIM technologies, such as Autodesk Revit, DGAD begins to mass and detail the buildings to complete construction documents for permitting and construction. DGAD takes pride in its exceptional design ideas, the high quality of its construction documents, and its expert experience with construction administration. For DGAD the project is not complete until the client is satisfied.