Learn about our Team.
We are at 2920 Ponce de Leon Blvd, Coral Gables, under the Arthur Murray Dance studio and across Ponce Park. We are open to the public
from 8am – 630pm Monday thru Friday.
WHAA is a Full-Service, Third-Generation Firm for Coral Gables Architecture. With a heritage originating in Coral Gables since 1949, WHAA was created by William Hamilton Arthur IV in 2015. WHAA works in Coral Gables’s most diverse and Culturally- Sensitive neighborhoods. Our buildings are Efficient, Environmentally- Sensible and Historically- Minded.
Our experience is comprehensive— We Design, Procure and Manage all of our own Construction. Our clients have brought us into all sectors; Restaurant, Retail, Residential, Multi-family, Hospitality, Manufacturing and Aviation.
We are located at 2920 Ponce de Leon Blvd, downtown Coral Gables; the district George Merrick designed for Artists and Architects in 1924.
We have a strong commitment to the Environment— we consider the overall impact on both South Florida’s built and unbuilt Environments. Our traditions of passive energy design, open-air environments and atmospheric transparency came from our research, and were adopted from our roots with prominent Miami Modern (MiMo) architect, Igor B. Polevitzky, FAIA.
We represents an important change in the industry— Our Coral Gables firm for Architecture alleviates the need to hire and coordinate additional consultants because we offer comprehensive project design, management and planning. We perform Plumbing, Mechanical, Electrical and Structural design for most of our projects in-house, decreasing delivery and permitting times.
Our projects are effective— A report by Professional Bank, of Coral Gables found that new residential projects managed by us are constructed for about 25% less than the average firm in South Florida.
See Our Projects.
Our Network
Responsiveness
Our Ability to
Permit Projects
We are committed to the built and un-built Environment, and a Carbonfree® Carbon-Neutral business through Carbonfund®
SEE OUR PROJECTSResidential Addition, Coral Gables
Interior Renovation, Coral Gables
6801 Granada Blvd, Coral Gables.
DESIGNED BY RJ HEISENBOTTLE, LEAH ZALDUMBIDE, ADRIANA CONTARINO, WM. H ARTHUR IV, AIA, NCARB. COPYRIGHT © 2018, WHAA, INC.
This renovation and addition to a historic home that was designed by the great Miami Architect Alfred Browning Parker in 1951. The Coral Gables home is strongly themed in the Mediterranean style, more than most of Parker’s work of the period, however presenting a more “classic” aesthetic.
29 Tahiti Beach Island Rd, Coral Gables.
DESIGNED BY LEAH ZALDUMBIDE, ADRIANA CONTARINO, WM. H ARTHUR IV, AIA, NCARB. COPYRIGHT © 2018, WHAA, INC.
The partial demolition, renovation and addition to an original home designed by the great Coral Gables Architect Ramon Pacheco in 1994. The Coral Gables home is strongly themed in the Mediterranean style, typical of Ramon’s work of the period, however presents a more “classic” aesthetic. Ramon described the original owner as an antique collector and this might have contributed to the addition of heavy, decorative pre-cast elements on the exterior. This cladding was in poor condition. There were multiple massings extending around a central courtyard unilaterally. The Coral Gables home is 2-levels with a crawlspace. The existing hip roof is in good condition, however is constructed of S-tiles, not in conformance to Coral Gables’ Mediterranean design standards. Each hip is irregular, and built in an unsymmetrical cascading fashion. The home is located in a Flood Zone. The home occupies a 41,320 square foot lot with an existing pool and English-themed garden.
FIRM BACKGROUND
After the retirement of Polevitzky and at the height of an economic slow-down in 1962, William’s grandfather Wm. H. Arthur III, ended his 12-year apprenticeship and took-on the bulk of the Polevitzky firm’s continuing work.
Among the first commissions for William’s grandfather (WHAIII) included Phase I of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton and Nuclear Fallout research for the Kennedy Administration. Arthur, who’s formal education came from the University of Illinois, held a adjunct professor position at the University of Miami School of Architecture while simultaneously
producing designs for restaurants, offices, retail buildings & even U.S. power plant sites– Adding an important, yet unpublicized component to his firm’s workload in the 1960s & 70s.
As Miami’s built environment expanded throughout the 1980s & 90s, WHAIII diversified his firm’s commissions, designing and constructing more than 2,500 public, private, commercial and industrial projects worldwide for his Miami clients including Eastern Airlines, Turnberry-Schiff Properties, Courtelis Company, Publix, Saglo, Equity One, Allstate and Merrill Lynch. WHAIII served as consultant Architect to some of Miami’s most significant projects;
In Miami-Dade, the Falls Shopping Center, In Orlando, the former Naval Training Center McCoy Annex (Orlando International Airport), Coconut Grove Bank, and many other major sites that remain important to this day. WHAIII also served two terms on the Coral Gables Board of Architects.
Certainly one of the most prolific firms in Miami, WHAIII forged a strong foundation with his small and powerful firm; a concept continued by wha design, Inc., a firm held by his son, and William Hamilton Arthur Architect, Inc. (WHAA) the firm held by his grandson.