The Miami Design District was once part of the historic neighborhood of Buena Vista, which originally consisted of farmland, including pineapple plantations, in the late 19th century. In the 1920s, Theodor Moore built the Moore Furniture Building for his family furniture business. Back then it was one of the first furniture stores in the United States, and today this building is one of the landmarks of the Miami Design District. In general, the area used to be predominantly industrial, but by the 1990s it had fallen into disrepair. Craig Robins began revitalizing the neighborhood in the early 2000s, and by the 2010s, the Miami Design District had evolved into a global hub for art and design.

"I didn't like the fact that Miami was mostly known as a place for entertainment," Craig Robins said in an interview. "People came here to have fun. On the one hand, this is good because it creates a flow of people, but this is not the only thing to form the identity of the city. I always wanted Miami to be the international cultural center".

State-of-the-art architecture combined with a pedestrian-friendly infrastructure turned the district into an open-air museum. Luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Fendi, Gucci, and others have opened their flagship stores here. For example, there is an eye-catching Tom Ford building, featuring contemporary architecture and geometric facade, that was designed by the American bureau Aranda/Lasch specifically for the brand. The Louis Vuitton boutique with its massive inset aluminum facade was designed by Japanese architects Jun Aoki and Mirei Uchibe. Another world-famous Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, known for his light constructions, created a project of a two-story building made of elongated glass ribs. Its facade connects the pedestrian lane with shopping storefronts. Many brands here collaborate with artists. For example, the front of the Tiffany&Co boutique is decorated by the artwork Cherry Blossom by a British artist Damien Hirst. The Gucci store facade is frequently updated with new monumental art.As Craig Robins noted, there are many luxury brands that feel like they are part of a creative lab.

The Miami Design District has turned into a whole cultural center, where high-end architecture, urban design, and modern art make the area more commercially attractive. Following the giants of the luxury segment, youth brands such as Off White, AMIRI, and KITH have opened their boutiques here. According to the JLL report, the rent for retail in the Miami Design District has increased by 200% since 2019. This is the sharpest growth in the North American real estate market during that period. The commercial success of the area, in turn, allows Robins to bring culturally significant projects to life. Visitors can enjoy installations by Urs Fischer, Virgil Abloh, Buckminster Fuller, and functional solutions such as twelve benches designed by Samuel Ross.

Additional public art installations throughout the neighborhood include Elastika, a site-specific installation by Zaha Hadid for the inaugural Design Miami fair in 2005. Her sculptural piece decorates the atrium of the historic Moore Building. Glass and metal pergola above the pedestrian street Paseo Ponti is designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. And a masterpiece fence for the DASH Design&Architecture Senior High School was designed by Marc Newson himself!

In 2021, the Miami Design District was awarded the prestigious LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED ND): Built v4 certificate from the Green Building Council in the United States for its contribution to sustainable development and sound urban planning, as well as for successfully combining a commercial model with the cultural development of society.
Miami Design District is truly an innovative project for Miami in its idea and implementation. This is an example of a new urban planning: on the one hand, it shows the power of creative thinking, and on the other sets the trends of cultural entrepreneurship not only in Florida, but also in the world.