CHICAGO, IL - Chicago-based Mary Cook Associates (MCA), a national, award-winning commercial interior design firm, today announced it has been awarded the luxury student housing project, Lapis. An 1,100-bed, three-tower project near Florida International University (FIU) in Miami by Toll Brothers Campus Living, a subsidiary of Toll Brothers, Inc., Lapis is scheduled for completion by the 2021 school year. MCA will be designing all common areas for Lapis, which will feature social gathering spaces, study alcoves, a game room, lounge and a Cuban coffee bar, which will serve as the centerpiece for the development.
This is not the first time MCA has partnered with Toll Brothers. “We are thrilled to expand our work with Toll Brothers into the student housing sector,” said Mary Cook, founder and president of Mary Cook Associates. “Designing student housing interiors is a natural progression of the work we’ve done in the hospitality and multifamily sectors. Lapis allows us to combine our expertise from those projects with our use of psychographics to ensure the common spaces resonate with the many international students who will be living there.”
Psychographics, the quantitative study of consumers’ attitudes and interests is used extensively by MCA to ensure the spaces designed by the firm are used and facilitate certain types of desirable behavior and responses by residents. At Lapis, Cook said that means taking design inspiration from the area’s Latin influences, as well as Miami’s coastal vibe and the progressive energy and school pride of FIU.
“It’s a delicate balance to bring all these elements together in harmony, but after immersing ourselves in a deep dive into the psychographics of the FIU student base, we created some concepts that Toll Brothers Campus Living couldn’t wait to pursue,” said Cook.
Interior common spaces will feature an aesthetic rooted in the fundamentals of Latin-inspired design – bold use of color, a strong graphic presence utilizing distinct pattern and texture, and a memorable, fully curated art package. Rich blues ground the color palette -- paying homage to the building’s name, Lapis, which is a highly sought-after celestial blue stone known as a universal symbol of wisdom and truth.
“Our research also showed that coffee is very personal and significant to a number of FIU’s student population – it’s viewed as a way to bring friends and family together, so we wanted to create a special space at Lapis that would be familiar to them or serve as a touchstone,” noted Cook. In response to this important cultural nuance, MCA programmed and specially designed a feature Cuban-style coffee bar in the Lapis’ main amenity space that acts not only as the volume’s main focal point, but also as a tool for inspiring social interaction, a strategy used often in luxury hospitality design.
Throughout the property, a combination of warm wood tones, graphic wallcoverings, and patterned flooring help to appropriately scale and delineate zones within the two-story common spaces. Whether residents are looking to study, relax or play, MCA has used strategic programming and furniture placement methods to ensure there are a variety of options available to them, ranging from the most private of study spaces to the active gathering spaces.
Other spaces within the community that MCA is designing include: a fitness center, conference and study rooms, and a pool and sundeck complete with hammocks and cabanas.
Lapis is located at 795 SW 110th Avenue Miami, with Humphreys Partners serving as the architect.