Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron has completed a residential tower north of Miami Beach, featuring terraces formed by extended concrete floor slabs.

Set to open officially on 16 March 2018, the Jade Signature development is located beside the beach in the Sunny Isles district and includes 192 condominiums.

The 57-storey concrete tower, which tapers gradually towards its top, features sculptural columns expressed on its exterior, between floor plates extended beyond the glass walls.

"Seen together, the walls and slabs – primary elements in the tower's architecture – create a finely textured expression on the facade," said Herzog & de Meuron in a statement.

"Concrete is both native to Miami's construction industry and integral to the tropical modernism that is part of Miami's architectural heritage."

The terraces add 30 per cent more floor area to each residence and provide shaded spaces for outdoor living – popular in Florida's tropical climate.

Column edges and the undersides of the concrete slabs are subtly patterned, and the glass handrails are tilted to minimise reflections.

Herzog & de Meuron chose a parallelogram footprint to minimise the skyscraper's shadow on the beach to the east, and maximise the amount of direct sun the ocean-facing units receive.

Unlike many of its neighbours, the tower's parking provision is located underground rather than housed in a podium at the base.

This enables residents to access the lobby directly from the street, and the swimming pool and beach from the same level.

A ribbon-like driveway takes cars from Collins Avenue up to the drop-off entrance on the west side, then becomes a winding route through the building's amenities, which include a restaurant and a spa.

Herzog & de Meuron has designed some of Miami's most iconic contemporary buildings, including the 1111 Lincoln Road concrete parking garage and the Peréz Art Museum surrounded by hanging plants.

The firm was founded in 1979 by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron in Basel, Switzerland. It was placed at number 12 in the 2017 Dezeen Hot List of the world's most newsworthy forces in design.

The studio is among the many well-known firms with apartment towers either recently completed or underway in the city, joining BIG, Foster + Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects, Renzo Piano and more.

But all architects and developers are having to face one issue in the low-lying city – the impending issue of rising sea levels.

Photography is by DBOX.