Services:
TROPICA is a team of architects, landscape designers/builders,
gardeners, and interior designers. We have come together to execute all phases of the design + build process from start to finish to deliver projects that are integrated at every level of detail, inside and out.
We offer all services related to architecture, landscapes,
interiors, and construction.
We also work with other designers and are open to collaborations of all kinds.
SUBTROPICA is the design/build subsidiary of TROPICA. In
addition to designing, building, and maintaining our architecture and gardens, we maintain a 7-acre Native Plant Nursery located in The Redlands to supply all of our projects with the highest quality, and most sought-after native plant species. Many of these species are endangered, threatened, or protected.
PHILOSOPHY
TROPICA is, quite intentionally, unlike any other architecture firm in Florida.
1. Who We Are
TROPICA is a Miami-based architecture firm led by three partners—each an expert in a distinct
but interconnected discipline: architecture, interiors, and landscape.
We design, build, and maintain every aspect of a project—from structures and interiors to native
gardens and long-term landscape care. Everything is coordinated in-house: engineering,
permitting, construction, and craft.
Few firms — anywhere — combine this level of expertise across so many layers of the built
environment. Because we work directly with craftspeople, masons, woodworkers, and gardeners
on-site, every element—floor plan, stonework, vegetation—belongs to one coherent vision,
executed with care and depth.
We don’t just design buildings — we create places where ecosystems and people coexist, layering
gardens into and around architecture. Interiors and landscape become one continuous, immersive
experience—for humans, birds, and butterflies alike.
Each project is led by our founding partners—Josh (landscape/architecture), Mariella (interiors),
and Andrew (architecture/build)—not handed off to junior staff. We take on only a few projects
per year so we can remain hands-on, deeply involved, and always reachable.
Instead of managing a fragmented team, you’ll have a single point of accountability.
2. Global Design Recognition and Experience
We’re proud to have been named the youngest firm on Forbes’ list of the Top 200 Architects.
Our partners have trained with some of the most respected and awarded architects in the world—including Herzog & de Meuron (Switzerland), Paulo Mendes da Rocha (Brazil), and Aires Mateus (Portugal)—all recipients of the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s highest honor. Beyond credentials, we remain active in the global design conversation. We teach, critique, and collaborate with international universities and design institutions, staying at the forefront of emerging ideas in architecture, sustainability, and ecological design.
3. Design Philosophy
We appreciate the limits of our own creativity.
More than any other firm in Florida, our projects do not look alike. We consider ourselves archaeologists in spirit. We don’t design with a fixed style—we work through a process of discovery, rooted in storytelling, site, and the particularities of each client. Our buildings, interiors, and gardens are shaped around what you value—how you live, what brings you joy, and what makes a place feel like home. The more input you give, the more we can uncover something deeply specific and meaningful. Beyond our archaeological approach, we design in partnership with nature.
Some of the most beautiful and valuable homes in the world—like Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright—are places where nature is the protagonist. But this kind of experience doesn’t depend on geography. We craft inhabited gardens that offer private immersion in nature—even in the middle of dense
cities or suburban streets.
In this way, the architecture becomes a canvas upon which nature, client, and site co-create the
spirit of place.
NEWS
We are very proud to share that TROPICA was just named to FORBES LIST - Top 200 American Residential Architects!
18,000 firms in the US were considered and interviewed, across all 50 states.
TROPICA is the youngest of the 200 firms honored. It is incredibly humbling to us to be included on such a list at such an early point in our careers. We are so grateful for all of your support, especially to our clients who we have had the pleasure of working with these last few years.
Links here below:
Press release:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardolsen/2024/10/30/architecture-and-the-american-house-now/
Selection Methodology:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardolsen/2024/09/19/americas-top-200-residential-architects-2025-methodology/
We are honored to be named to the BEST-IN-STATE Architects list from Forbes. Criteria for selection was based upon quality of built work, educational background of firm principals, and the firm’s impact and focus on contemporary cultural issues. Thank you to all our clients and team of incredible collaborators!
TROPICA recently lectured at FIU School of Architecture. Partners Josh Ehrlich, Mari Tzakis, and Andrew Aquart discussed how the team takes an archeological approach to projects, focused on “uncovering” the essence of each project, rather than imposing ideas on each unique problem. The trio also discusses the life of an architect, what their creative lives look like, and the long-term goals of the firm.
“In a city obsessed with the polished image, the building code is written to keep the environment out. We invite the context and climate in: bringing earth, weather,and plants into our architecture. We design in partnership with nature, not in spite of it.”
We are thrilled to share that our largest design-build landscape project to date has been featured as an Architectural Record House of 2025.
Since 1956, Architectural Record has showcased exemplary single-family residential projects in North America and beyond through the popular annual “Record Houses program”. This year, 6 houses were selected world-wide.
Our office was tasked with designing and building the landscape in 2023. Andrew Aquart, now partner at TROPICA , was the project manager for the design of the home.
Thursday / Feb 26 / 6:30 PM - Symbiotic House and The Kampong are excited to invite you to next week’s lecture in our ongoing series, featuring TROPICA, one of the most ecologically minded architecture and design practices in Florida, (and arguably anywhere)!
TROPICA is a team of architects, landscape designers/builders, gardeners, and interior designers. TROPICA is led by three partners—each an expert in a distinct but interconnected discipline: architecture, interiors, and landscape.
$10 RSVP, Free for Kampong Members. Tickets available via link in bio.
Presented by: The Benjamin & Gloria Joannou, Jr. Family Conservation Fund
“Architecture is highly autobiographical. We tell the stories of our clients and sites and answer each problem individually and specifically.”
OOLITE NATURAL POOL_043
This natural pool and landscape design is created only from ingredients present at the PLOT. This project is being completed as a Design-Build effort as we are intending to use only components we find at the site, rather than adding or subtracting elements from the property.In this way, we create architecture through a process of moving, carving, re-purposing, and re-using. We believe that all projects in South Florida can be created in this manner, in order to re-establish our connection to the land, earth, and ground plane. No extra building material is being brought to the site- all stone is instead quarried from the property - carved, cut, and maneuvered to establish the pool’s geometry and form. Once the shape of the pools is carved, an entirely native palette of plants is brought to the site in order to establish a series of diverse plant communities. These ecosystems are defined by subtle variations in elevation and relationship to ground water. Plants that are installed at higher elevations have less access to water, meaning they must survive the dry Florida winters. Plants placed near the water table will purify the water and provide natural filtration to the pool which will otherwise not need salt or chlorine to keep it clean.
TENT HOUSE GARDEN INSTALL _005
Before any architectural designs were prepared, we planned the landscape design and pathways through the ancient oak forest which had been overtaken by invasive plants. Through a Design-Build and extensive removal process, the oaks were revealed and a series of curving pathways laid out. Only then, was the architecture approached.Both the qualities of the oak bark, and the geometry of the pathways were instrumental in the architectural approach to this structure.
Inspired by the fantastical garden tents of history and myth, the Pool House will be used by the family as a garden retreat. The building gently touches the ground and will be characterized by a light roof, held in tension between two rooms. The Dog-Trot house typology provides an additional reference — a central open space provides shade and ventilation, on axis with the pool, to enjoy the warm climate.
In a climate constantly affected by hurricanes, this project is an additional study in how to create new facade material expression, and structural systems, in our heavily regulated municipality.