On Thursday February 1, 2024, PROFILEmiami will host its inaugural PROFILE Design Summit, exploring the state of the Architecture and Interior Design industries. The lavish bespoke networking soirée will feature a panel discussion featuring legendary architects Kobi Karp and Ralph Choeff, interior design icon Will Meyer, as well as one of Miami’s leading developers who specializes in bringing starchitects into some of Miami’s most iconic, skyline changing towers, Louis Birdman. The panel will explore hot-button topics in the design world including Miami’s design landscape, architecture, interior design, sustainability, Starchitects, the newest styles and collections, new technology and its impact on architecture, etc.

Louis Birdman, One Thousand Group, Co-Founder

Projects: One Thousand Museum (Delivered), Villa Miami Residences

For over three decades, real estate industry veteran Louis Birdman has taken a leadership role in the development of over 70 residential projects, comprising more than 18,000 residential units nationwide with real estate valued in excess of $5 billion. Mr. Birdman has an extensive background in property acquisitions, dispositions, entitlements, financing, planning, design, construction, sales, and marketing. Since the late 1990s Mr. Birdman has been a principal investor and lead developer in numerous condominium developments projects nationwide, as well as multiple high-rise properties he has either developed or acquired, converted and sold as condominiums in Miami including Emerald Brickell, Vue on Brickell and Davinci Coral Gables.

Mr. Birdman’s most Recently completed projects include One Thousand Museum designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, a 62 Story ultra-luxury high-rise condominium Tower with 84 Residences, which has become known around the world as one of the most recognized building on the Miami Skyline. The project was described as “one of the most complex skyscrapers to ever make it off the drawing board” on PBS’s documentary, “Impossible Builds.” One Thousand Museum has won over a dozen industry awards including World’s Best International High-Rise Architecture and ENR Best of the Best Project Nationwide in the Residential / Hospitality Category.

Currently Mr. Birdman along with his partners are in the pre-development phase on numerous South Florida developments, Including Villa Miami, a 56 story 72 residence ultra-luxury condominium tower on the bay at 29th Street in Miami’s Edgewater neighborhood, designed by ODP Architects. One Thousand Group is co-developing Villa Miami with Terra Group and will be the first condominium residences branded by the global hospitality visionaries Major Food Group. Additionally, Mr. Birdman and his partners have recently announced and received approvals for a planned Luxury / Class-A Mixed use 46 Story office tower designed by KPF Architects, at Biscayne Blvd and 36th Street adjacent to the Miami Design District.

Mr. Birdman has been a registered architect licensed in multiple jurisdictions in the past, including New York, Illinois, Nevada and remains licensed in Florida where he has been a registered architect since 1989. Mr. Birdman was also a principal in an architectural firm he co-founded in 1986 and managed that firm until its sale to his co-founder in the late 1990’s Mr. Birdman holds a Bachelor of Design in Architecture from the University of Florida, as well as a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Miami.

Kobi Karp, Founder Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design

Projects: Four Seasons at The Surf Club, Indian Creek Residences & Yacht Club, Bay Harbor Towers, Palazzo Del Sol Fisher Island, One Hotel Miami Beach, Four Seasons Hotel & Residences Fort Lauderdale, The Shore Club Miami Beach, 1 Hotel South Beach

Kobi Karp is the Founder and Principal of Kobi Karp Architecture and Interior Design, Inc (KKAID). Kobi Karp founded the firm in 1996 and has been the Principal-in-Charge of design since that time. KKAID is a full-service architectural and interior design firm providing a vast array of services, ranging from the design of large-scale, high-rise condominium and hospitality projects to intimate, small-scale low-rise residential and commercial structures.

Educated at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology, Kobi Karp earned degrees in both Architecture and Environmental Design. Subsequently, Kobi Karp began his career working on major hospitality and all- inclusive resort projects throughout the United States and the Caribbean. His restoration design techniques have contributed to a renaissance in one of this country’s most cherished areas, Miami Beach’s Art Deco District which is internationally recognized around the world.

Kobi Karp has developed expertise in design over the last 20 years, working with a wide range of project types, sizes, complexities, and budgets. It is through this last quarter century working in warm weather climates that KKAID has garnered international acclaim and been selected to spearhead numerous resort projects. Developers and builders in the Caribbean, Black Sea region, and the Middle East have relied on the firm for their design eye and planning.

Kobi Karp is a recognized member of the American Institute of Architects, honored for his award-winning designs and buildings and he is a licensed Professional Architect in 9 states and in Abu Dhabi (UAE). His firm has been featured in renowned national and local publications based on their major contributions in the preservation of historical areas.

Ralph Choeff, AIA, Founding Principal, Choeff Levy Fischman Architecture + Design

Projects: Ultra-luxury single family homes including 6360 North Bay Road Miami Beach, Villa Paradiso Vero Beach, 320 S Hibiscus Drive Miami Beach, 9530 W Broadview Drive Bay Harbor Islands, and 19 Palm Avenue Miami Beach

Ralph Choeff is a graduate of Pratt Institute where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree. While living in New York City, Choeff designed low-income Section-8 housing in the City’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, among other projects.

Upon graduation in 1978, Choeff moved to Miami where he launched his own firm in 1983. He has since established himself and his firm as leaders in South Florida’s Tropical Modern architecture. The architectural style making waves across South Florida’s most exclusive neighborhoods such as the Venetian Islands and North Bay Road combines Choeff’s love for classic midcentury modern design with tropical elements like South American Ipe wood, Limestone, Travertine, and other exotic stones. Choeff’s designs feature expansive floor-to-ceiling glass doors that often slide and pocket to allow for unobstructed views of the water. Choeff is also a fan of implementing Zen-like water features such as a reflecting pond at the entryway with “floating" steps that lead one to the front door, or cascading waterfalls with a modern flair throughout.

Choeff has gone on to win several local and international design awards and has designed residences for a multitude of high-profile global executives, celebrities, musicians, and professional athletes including Alex Rodriguez. In addition to luxury single-family residences, Choeff has also designed notable Miami Beach hotels including the Mondrian South Beach and The Angler’s.

In 2022, Ralph and his partners, Raphael Levy and Paul Fischman, opened an office in Tampa as a result of the growing market demand for their highly desirable style of architecture in the area.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Choeff lives in Miami, Florida.

Will Meyer, Co-Principal & Co-Founder, Meyer Davis

Projects: Park Grove, Baccarat Residences, Mr. C Residences Coconut Grove, Auberge Beach Residences Fort Lauderdale, Jade Signature, The Well Bay Harbor Islands, 1 Hotel South Beach

Born and raised in Tennessee, Will Meyer is a graduate of the Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction. He began his career in New York as an intern for the avant-garde architect Peter Eisenman, which led to a full-time position at Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, where he was mentored by the legendary Charles Gwathmey. In 1999, he and Gray Davis founded Meyer Davis Studio as a full-service design firm with both residential and hospitality projects. Will shares a passion for art and architecture with a clientele that includes fashion designers, celebrity chefs, and powerhouse hoteliers. His ability to work in both modernist and traditional vernaculars has led to commissions around the globe.

Will and his wife, Kerstin, reside with their two children in their home in Nashville, and spend summers at his beach house in East Hampton, originally designed by architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen, which Will renovated and expanded in harmony with the original design and winters in Mexico at the house he designed in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca.

PROFILE Design Summit - Architecture + Interior Design

On Thursday February 1, 2024, PROFILEmiami will host its inaugural PROFILE Design Summit, exploring the state of the Architecture and Interior Design industries. The PROFILE Design Summit is the next installment of PROFILEmiami’s highly-regarded PROFILEconnect bespoke networking event series, which brings together Miami’s real estate industry and business professionals to network and connect outside of a traditional business setting. PROFILEconnect is attended by Miami’s top investors, developers, business professionals, brokers, financiers, architects, designers and other service providers.

Guests will have the opportunity to network and share their experiences in South Florida through thoughtful discourse, while forging new relationships with industry leaders. The night will feature an hour of networking with sounds by local DJs DAKAP, followed by the panel discussion and Q&A, and will finish off with more networking, supplemented by an open bar throughout the night and bites by Pura Vida and Zeroe Plant Based Caviar.

Date: Thursday, February 1, 2024

Where: Eichholtz Miami, 3711 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33137, Miami Design District

Time: 6 PM - 9 PM

Music / DJ: DAKAP

Food & Drinks By: Pura Vida, Zeroe Plant Based Caviar, E11EVEN Vodka, Brugal Rum, Kopu Water

Panelists:

• Kobi Karp, Kobi Karp Architecture & Interior Design

• Louis Birdman, One Thousand Group

• Ralph Choeff, Choeff Levy Fischman

Sponsors: