Delano South Beach Hotel vs Ocean Spray Hotel

Comparing the Delano South Beach Hotel and the Ocean Spray Hotel is interesting because they both rise in Miami, FL, yet they were conceived by two different design teams, Robert Swartburg and M.L.Hampton Associates, and were completed at different points in time. They were finished more than a decade apart.

This contrast within the same city allows us to see how different creative minds interpreted the evolving needs of Miami across time.

Let's take a closer look!

The Delano South Beach Hotel is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 190ft (58m) with 15 floors above ground, while the Ocean Spray Hotel reaches 0ft (m) with 7 floors above ground.

Of course, each project may have faced different briefs or regulatory constraints, which we don't really know about and could also explain the outcome.

Both the Delano South Beach Hotel and the Ocean Spray Hotel were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Art Deco style.

Both buildings were completed when the Art Deco style was already past its peak. This makes them feel like late echoes of the movement, more reflective of continuity or nostalgia than of cutting-edge design at the time.

Both the Delano South Beach Hotel and the Ocean Spray Hotel are primarily hotel towers, serving similar roles in the urban fabric.

Originally, the Delano South Beach Hotel was designed for residential, but over time it was converted to hotel. The Ocean Spray Hotel by contrast has maintained its original role.

The Delano South Beach Hotel incorporates a 5-star hotel with 194 rooms. More information is available at the official website.

The Delano South Beach Hotel also provides 700 parking spaces.

These two towers illustrate the many possible ways to combine structure and enclosure in skyscraper design.