The Design District is the most architecturally ambitious open-air commercial space in Miami, a curated environment where the buildings are as much the attraction as what they contain. Craig Robins' development has attracted structures by Sou Fujimoto, Aranda\Lasch, and other internationally recognized architects, and the public art installations — including Buckminster Fuller's Fly's Eye Dome — create a gallery experience between the luxury shops. The Institute of Contemporary Art Miami provides the institutional anchor, offering free admission to exhibitions that compete in quality with the Perez Art Museum.
Mandolin Aegean Bistro, in a 1940s bungalow that predates the district's transformation, provides the most beautiful dining setting in the neighbourhood. The criticism — that it is a luxury shopping mall disguised as a cultural district — is not entirely wrong, but the architectural quality is genuine and the public art accessible to anyone who walks through. The Design District sits between Wynwood to the south and Little Haiti to the north, and the three neighbourhoods can be walked in sequence for a compressed experience of Miami's creative, commercial, and cultural energies.