Bakehouse Art Complex and Coldefy Announce Winner for “Triumphal Arch” Open Call to be Installed at the Institution’s Iconic Wynwood Norte Campus
Renderings from the winning proposal, The Porch, for the “Triumphal Arch” Open Call with Bakehouse Art Complex. Courtesy of Elmer O. Garcia and Olga Kusche-Iglesias.
The winning proposal, The Porch, reimagines the triumphal arch through Miami’s vernacular culture of gathering, adaptation, and community.
Miami, FL (Thursday, May 28, 2026) —Bakehouse Art Complex, in collaboration with internationally acclaimed French architecture and urban design practiceColdefy, is pleased to announce the selection of The Porch by architects and educators Elmer O. García and Olga Kusche-Iglesias as the winning proposal for the “Triumphal Arch” Open Call.
The open call invited Miami-based artists, architects, designers, and students to radically reinterpret the idea of a gateway or triumphal arch for a temporary community-centered public installation at Bakehouse’s expanding Wynwood Norte campus. The selected proposal will serve as the entrance to a new temporary infill community garden and programming space adjacent to Bakehouse’s main campus located on a site recently acquired and reenvisioned for urban agricultural education, outdoor exhibitions, workshops, performances, and neighborhood gatherings.
This project emerged through Bakehouse Art Complex’s longstanding relationship with Villa Albertine and the French Consulate General in Miami, through which Bakehouse regularly hosts Villa Albertine residents and supports cultural exchange initiatives in South Florida and Paris. During their 2025 Villa Albertine residency in Miami, Coldefy principals Thomas Coldefy, Isabel Van Haute, and Zoltán Neville developed the concept and open call brief following visits to Bakehouse and conversations around the organization’s history, mission, and role within the Wynwood Norte community. Their residency in Miami, centered on green space integration, climate resilience, equity, affordability, and cultural diversity in urban environments, closely aligned with the Bakehouse’s vision for its community garden.
The initiative was spearheaded by Philip Lique, Bakehouse’s Chief Strategist and Planner, with the intention of transforming the Bakehouse’s campus in service of its creative production as the institution evolves into a next-generation center for artistic production, fabrication, and public engagement. A multidisciplinary artist, designer, fabricator, and educator, Lique plays a central role in shaping Bakehouse’s fabrication initiatives, artist infrastructure, and community-oriented public projects and spaces.
The Porch by Elmer O. García and Olga Kusche-Iglesias
The winning proposal, The Porch, transforms the classical triumphal arch through distinctly “Miami” typology rooted in the social and architectural traditions of South Florida and the Caribbean. Drawing inspiration from vernacular porches, García and Kusche-Iglesias propose a structure that functions less as a monument and more as a civic threshold for gathering, pause, and everyday exchange.
Constructed from aluminum tubing and reconfigured lawn chair components, the design incorporates shade, seating, and patterned gate elements inspired by Miami’s residential security grilles and Bakehouse’s visual identity. The proposal reimagines the gateway not simply as a passage point, but as an inhabitable social space embedded within the cultural language of Miami neighborhoods.
“The Porch stood out for its conceptual clarity, material ingenuity, and deeply local approach to public space,” said the selection panel. “The proposal captures Bakehouse’s commitment to creative innovation and community-building while transforming familiar everyday objects into an inviting architectural experience.”
García and Kusche-Iglesias both teach at Florida International University’s School of Architecture and bring backgrounds in architecture, fabrication, design-build practices, and material experimentation to the collaboration.
The Open Call & Finalist Selection Process
The open call drew a strong and highly competitive response from across Miami’s creative communities, reflecting the city’s growing interdisciplinary dialogue between art, architecture, fabrication, urbanism, and public space.
Beyond the winning submission, three meritorious proposals from the open call were selected as Finalists, each reflecting a thoughtful prioritization of Miami’s local culture, Bakehouse’s surrounding vernacular architecture, and a strong spirit of community. Finalist submissions include:
Here Comes the Sun proposed by Overhead Studio
Sun Gate proposed by artist Sterling Rook
Cinder Arch proposed by Antoine Laduron
Proposals were evaluated by a multidisciplinary jury composed of architects, educators, artists, and neighborhood stakeholders, including:
Thomas Coldefy: Architect, Founding Partner, and Principal of Coldefy (Paris, Lille, Shanghai)
Zoltán Neville: Architect and Partner of Coldefy
Rodolphe el-Khoury: Dean, University of Miami School of Architecture
Marc Russell Jr.: Bakehouse artist and educator at José de Diego Middle School
Emma Sierra and Julio Rodriguez: Wynwood Norte residents and Bakehouse gardeners
John Planz: Bakehouse Board Member and Miami General Manager of Suffolk Construction
The selected installation will be fabricated and installed later this year as part of the ongoing development of Bakehouse’s new community garden and public programming site.
The Winner and Finalist proposals will be presented through exhibitions at Bakehouse Art Complex in Miami and at Coldefy Studios in Paris, concurrent with Art Basel Paris this fall. The exhibition is sponsored by the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor Bureau.
About Bakehouse Art Complex
Founded in 1985 inside a historic 1926 industrial bakery building, Bakehouse Art Complex has served for nearly four decades as one of Miami’s leading nonprofit artist residency organizations, supporting more than 100 artists annually through affordable studios, exhibitions, fabrication facilities, and professional development opportunities. (bacfl.org) As Miami continues to face rapid urbanization and displacement pressures, Bakehouse has increasingly emerged as a cultural anchor within Wynwood Norte, advancing artist-centered planning, affordability initiatives, community partnerships, and a program that is evolving to contribute to Miami’s aspirations of a center of creativity and cultural production.
For more information, visit Bakehouse Art Complex or Coldefy.
Media ContactEllie Hayworth Murray / Hayworth Co. / ellie@hayworth.co