BANYAN HUB

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA (USA)

Client: West Palm Beach Community Redevelopment Agency 
Date: 2017 – Ongoing
Status: Schematic Design delivered
Program: Mixed-use building and public space. The program includes urban plazas, retail and catering, rooftop pavilion, YMCA, business hub, mobility hub, housing, and city support area.
Scope: Pre Design and Schematic Design

After winning the international competition Shore To Core, commissioned by the City of West Palm Beach and organized by the Van Alen Institute in 2017, Ecosistema Urbano is developing several parts of the proposal, among them the visionary Banyan Hub building.

The Banyan Hub project arises from the intuition of the City of West Palm Beach and the CRA to transform the existing Banyan Garage, a car-devoted building from the 70s in the heart of the Downtown, into a new opportunity to activate the city, a hub for dozens of new activities for both residents and visitors.

Open Shore Map, West Palm Beach, Ecosistema Urbano. GIF

Ecosistema Urbano has finalized the Schematic Design of the project that has been officially approved by the West Palm Beach City Commission on Oct. 22. The project will be further developed in next months.

The Banyan Hub offers in a single building a wide range of different programs: three public plazas with retail and an event pavilion, a nature-framed business hub, a YMCA with spectacular views over the lagoon and a residential area with different housing typologies, from micro units, ranging from 500 to 1500 sq. ft. Moreover, the new building will not lose its garage function, as it will provide parking space incorporating Automated Parking System technologies.


The Banyan Hub is conceived to be a unique landmark in West Palm Beach urban landscape, not only for its flexible and hybrid design but also for representing a pioneering approach to sustainable architecture. Its bioclimatic functioning includes features such as responsive façades, ventilation courtyards for natural evaporative cooling, passive ventilation and active renewable energy systems. These will ensure pleasant environmental conditions all year round while also reducing the building’s environmental impact and management costs.

The building will be the result of a public-private partnership operation.

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