> > > > MARTHA AKINS
Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Miami, Florida, USA
Nestled on 50 acres near Miami, Florida, USA, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens offers a breathtaking glimpse into the Gilded Age. The site, completed in 1923, is home to a dozen architecturally significant buildings influenced by Italian Renaissance and Mediterranean styles. Martha Akins and her FM team face unique challenges with architecture, elements, visitors and historic preservation limitations.
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FMJ: Tell us about yourself and how you got into FM.
AKINS: I came to facility management in what I would consider a non-traditional progression; however, my strengths and experience throughout my career have brought me to this unexpected place. I started in interior design, and I worked in an architectural firm doing project management and business administration. Once I got my master’s degree in historic preservation, I started overseeing multiple state-owned historic sites in Tennessee, their ongoing maintenance as well as multimillion-dollar capital improvements. Now I work at a national historic landmark in Miami, Florida, USA, as the senior director of facilities. Although I benefit from and use my construction and preservation experience, I have had to lean into and grow into the FM role.
FMJ: What is Vizcaya?
AKINS: Vizcaya Museum and Gardens is the former historic estate of industrialist James Deering, and today it serves as an educational resource for our community and visitors. Deering, who made his wealth through the manufacture of farm equipment, purchased 180 acres of rustic wilderness overlooking Biscayne Bay to build a European-styled 45,000 square foot villa and a self-supporting farm village to create an impressive European-styled formal garden. He and his team of designers employed artisans to create sculptures, wrought iron gates and other decorative elements, and they also gathered antique European art objects and architectural elements, from stone fireplaces to whole ceilings, to be incorporated or showcased throughout the house and gardens. Deering spent his winters on the property between 1916 and 1925 before his death, at which point his two nieces inherited the property. In 1953, the property, now consisting of 50 acres, was conveyed to Miami-Dade County and opened as a historic house museum. Today the museum is still owned by Miami-Dade County and operated by Vizcaya Museum and Gardens Trust, Inc.
FMJ: What was it like when you stepped into the FM role at Vizcaya?
AKINS: When I started at Vizcaya, it was almost overwhelming as there was so much deferred maintenance and so little documentation. It felt as though I was starting something from the ground up. It has taken years to develop a good foundation of information to build on. From there, I have instituted the use of maintenance work order software, obtained regular maintenance contracts for most of our equipment, and drafted an emergency plan and lots of standard operating procedures. In my director role, I was also designated the chief hurricane officer, and I had never been involved in a hurricane or its aftermath; so, Hurricane Irma in 2017 was a real eye-opening experience for me. I have learned a lot about the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and all its rules, procedures and guidelines.
FMJ: What is day-to-day life like at Vizcaya?
AKINS: Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, Vizcaya hosts more than 300,000 visitors a year and is open every day except Tuesdays, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. For our daily visitors, we have a ticketing operation to facilitate guided or on-your-own house and garden tours as well as a café and gift shop. Vizcaya also has a robust calendar of community programs such as “Vizcaya Late” (thematic evening activities), “Wild Vizcaya” (programs featuring our biodiversity), the ever-popular Seersucker Social, yoga, interactive art workshops, climate collaboratives and a weekly farmer’s market, just to highlight a few. Special fundraising events include a fashion-forward Preservation Luncheon and an exquisite annual gala. In addition, Vizcaya is a sought-after wedding destination and professional photography setting. The backdrop to all these events, programs and general visitation is the facilities, which must be clean, functioning, safe and secure for a fully operational site open to the public. We manage to clean the Main House and restrooms before the public arrives on site, and discreetly do touch-ups throughout the day. The maintenance team schedules its work for the least amount of interruption to the daily activities, and major disturbances (noise, impact on public areas, etc.) are best scheduled for Tuesdays, when we are closed to the public. In addition, the maintenance team supports the approximately 90-person staff, whether it is delivery of water bottles or painting an office space. No two days are alike!
FMJ: Why is Vizcaya unique and what kind of unique challenges do you face managing the facility and gardens?
AKINS: “That’s very Vizcaya,” is something I say frequently, meaning it is unique, unusual and could only happen at Vizcaya.
The environment is one of our biggest threats. The property is bounded to the east by Biscayne Bay (Atlantic Ocean) and is affected by king tides, subject to sea level rise and faces annual hurricane threats. To complicate our tenuous environment, Vizcaya has a historic swimming pool that is partially uncovered and partially protected under the first floor of the house. To address water infiltration, we have sump pumps, lift stations, flood doors and panels, and our basement café has aquarium glass windows and doors for added protection. For hurricane protection, we install armor screens on the doors and windows that are not permanently protected, and we inflate a water bladder tube that acts as a storm surge barrier around the exposed perimeter of the estate. These measures are in addition to our yearly routine hurricane preparedness.
Compounding the external environmental conditions Vizcaya faces are the construction materials of the Main House and many other buildings, structures and elements, which present a contributory or symbiotic deteriorating effect. The main material used throughout is oolitic limestone, an extremely porous rock subject to constant wind and water erosion. Moreover, the salt in the sea air penetrates the stone easily, rusts the structural rebar as well as other metal elements, and causes spalling of the limestone and concrete.
Another challenge that Vizcaya faces comes regrettably from the public that we serve. Hundreds of thousands of visitors place the historic resource at risk through the unintended wear-and-tear of historic surfaces such as the wood and marble floors, and by touching walls and historic objects as they navigate the Main House, creating stains from grime and oils left behind. Some visitors perform more egregious acts, such as ignoring the room barriers and sitting on historic furniture for that one incredible Instagram photo or Snapchat video. When artifacts get broken or damaged, our in-house conservation staff can perform some repairs, and if not, we must outsource the repair to a professional conservation firm. Fortunately, we continuously monitor, evaluate and increase our security measures to keep these preventable incidents at bay.
Because Vizcaya is a national historic landmark, a designation by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior as nationally significant in American history and culture, we must ensure that whatever repairs, maintenance and construction improvements we undertake do not impact that designation. Consequently, we use the Secretary of Interior’s Standards to guide us in all our decision making. Sometimes that may mean a project takes twice as long and costs twice as much, but at least it is done correctly and will safeguard Vizcaya for many generations.
FMJ: How much space do you manage and how is it used?
AKINS: The Main House at Vizcaya is 45,000 square feet and includes a basement, first floor, second floor, a mezzanine level and towers with a third floor. Most of the house is public space, with staff offices. There are many ancillary historic buildings and structures: Laundry Building (used for public restrooms), Fire House (used for the chillers), Tea House, a stone Barge, the Boat Landing, a Casino (small house), East Gate Lodge (staff offices), West Gate Lodge (staff offices), Garage (our largest meeting space), Mechanic Shop (our conference room), Blacksmith Shop, Paint Shop, Superintendent’s House, Staff Residence, Chicken Coop, Dairy Barn, Carriage House, Mule Shed, Telecomm Building, numerous grottos, gazebos and a pergola. New, non-historic structures are the generator building, greenhouses and horticulture sheds, restroom building and admissions booth. Staff offices are in the Main House, the Gate Lodges and the Superintendent’s House. The farm village buildings are not restored yet, but with pending restoration plans, spaces will be used for public programs, curatorial and archive needs, as well as staff space.
FMJ: Tell us about your FM team.
AKINS: Vizcaya’s facilities department includes both capital projects and maintenance teams. Our capital projects team includes a construction manager, a construction project manager and a construction project coordinator, and we are hoping to add another project manager or two as we move forward with the implementation of our master plan and other large construction projects. The maintenance team includes a maintenance chief, maintenance technicians and repairers, and custodial workers. Some facility maintenance teams include security and grounds maintenance. However, Vizcaya’s security is provided by the security department, and gardens/grounds maintenance and landscaping are provided by horticulture department. We all collaborate.
FMJ: What are some FM challenges you face at the Vizcaya that are common across the FM industry?
AKINS: Incorporated into Vizcaya’s mission, vision and core values, environmental sustainability is a key element of what we do. We started with small measures to change staff attitudes and perceptions, such as simple recycling bins in offices and a reduction in the number of personal water bottles we ordered. Since our more humble beginnings, we have built upon our sustainability efforts year after year to include having bayfront clean-up days; installing bottle refilling stations for staff and the public; composting our café and staff food waste, landscape waste and staff-used paper towels; installing hand air dryers in the public restrooms and sensor activated water faucets throughout the facility; switching to biodegradable nitrile gloves for our staff and participating in a glove recycling program; eliminating paper usage for visitor experiences by using QR codes; implementing digital processes to reduce office paper purchases; using dishes, silverware and glassware instead of disposable plastic plates and utensils; installing programmable thermostats and motion-sensor light switches; and placing attractive combination trash/recycling bins throughout the estate. As we achieve our goals, we add new ones to strive for as we are far from a zero-waste facility or other similar achievements. We continually educate ourselves, our staff, our board and the public in ways to help Vizcaya achieve its sustainability goals.
FMJ: What do you like best about what you do?
AKINS: Vizcaya is a truly unique, beautiful and serene place that in and of itself makes an enviable work environment. Almost seven years later, I still find or notice things for the first time. But more than that, I really enjoy making a difference, no matter where I work. It may be a successful project I’ve overseen, or a special staff request that I fulfilled, making his or her job better. I especially enjoy being part of a team that is dedicated, respectful, responsible, and even fun and entertaining! We celebrate success together, and we support each other when things go wrong. My colleagues make Vizcaya more than “just a job.”
