MIAMI— Perhaps best known for the vital role he played in South Beach's transformation from a seedy backwater into an international hotspot, real estate developer Craig Robins has also been a fixture on the Miami arts scene for the past 15 years, amassing an impressive collection of contemporary works by the likes of Richard Tuttle, Kai Althoff, John Baldessari and Paul McCarthy.

Robins has also been intimately associated with Art Basel since the fair first came to Miami four years ago. He has hosted the popular Art Loves Design party, and this year, he was instrumental in the launch of design.05, a show with more than a dozen of the world's top dealers of design and decorative arts that will run concurrently with the fair.

Visitors to the fair in December will also be able to take a tour of Robins' latest and much-lauded project: Aqua, a development on its own 8.5 acre island off Miami Beach. With townhomes and mid-rise condominiums designed by a team of 10 architecture firms (and with the entire effort overseen by the renowned urban-planning firm of Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co.), Robins said his new community "reconciles the rift between New Urbanism and Modernism"—and features large-scale, site-specific works by Richard Tuttle and Guillermo Kuitca and a sculpture by Mark Handforth.

Robins spoke recently with ArtInfo.

How has the Miami arts scene changed over the last four years since the arrival of Basel?

It has really pulled the community together, and Miami has become much better known in the art world. A lot of the artists working here have received more attention, the attention they deserve. And if anything, it has invigorated the local collecting community and inspired the expansion of our museums. The fair has really had a positive impact on the cultural community here upon all levels.

What role have you played in that transformation?

From the beginning, we have collaborated with the fair on setting up cultural exhibits in support of what the fair is doing and have hosted some really wonderful events, such as the Art Loves Design party.

This year, the events will get more exciting and dynamic. We're collaborating with the fair on putting on design.05, a design show with 15 of the best dealers of design and decorative arts in the world, including fabulous presentations from Ron Arad and Murray Moss.

Also at Aqua, we will have the official unveiling of Richard Tuttle's mural, Splash, and we are working with Basel to arrange tours.

In your view, what makes Art Basel Miami completely different from the world's other major art events?

The extraordinary thing about Basel is that we really modeled it more after the Milan furniture fair than other typical art fairs. During the Salone in Milano, the entire city celebrates design; parties are held throughout the city. The fair is important, but it's not the sole component [to the whole experience]. Similarly, during Basel, the whole city of Miami is now celebrating art and culture. There's so much to do socially and culturally while here. The fair is a unique happening in art; the only thing that compares is the experience that is going to the Venice Biennale and then on to Basel in Swtizerland.

And what would you tweak to improve the Basel Miami experience?

This year, we felt it was important not to emphasize parties and events, but to improve the depth of cultural options and focus on doing things with design of the same quality as the fair is with art. The whole new dimension of and emphasis on design is really part of the experience now, part of our community continuing to offer more substance and depth during the fair.

Is this greater emphasis on design more about enriching the experience of those who would have attended anyway or about attracting new faces?

Both. It's important for the base of collectors to continue to have better and more dynamic experiences while here, but it will also attract many more people. I've talked to so many really interesting collectors who said they did not come last year, but are coming this year, and I think the design focus is definitely one of the things that has generated a buzz. As I go around in New York, people who are not aware of how involved I am in the design component are talking to me about really hearing that it is a major part of the fair, what is giving it energy.

Of course, the [design] buzz is helped a great deal by the fact Zaha Hadid will do a magnificent site-specific installation for design.05.

There's just so much energy and enthusiasm in the design-dealing community for design.05. They really wanted something like this to happen, and the fair has become a natural catalyst to weave together art and design and showcase both in a new way.

For visitors who want to discover what's going on in Miami arts — and design-wise, outside the confines of the fair, what advice do you have in terms of local galleries to check out, neighborhoods to explore, experiences to seek out?

The best thing to do is to come to the Miami Design District. With all the exhibits that will be on during Basel, there will be lots to see, including design.05, and everything is within walking distance.

The Wynwood [Art District], too, has several interesting galleries.

The main thing is to visit the museums: MoCA [the Museum of Contemporary Art], MAM [the Miami Art Museum] and the Wolfsonian.

We will also open a large section of our Dacra offices [at 1632 Pennsylvania Ave. in Miami Beach] to do an exhibit, mainly focused on works by John Baldessari and Tuttle from 1960 forward.

Speaking of Tuttle and Baldessari, where are your own collection efforts focused today?

I continue to be committed to collecting emerging artists, but I have become very concerned about the imbalanced hype and focus emerging artists are receiving at the moment. So I'm putting more effort into rounding off and improving my collection of work by artists such Baldessari and Tuttle. I think they are incredibly important artists and remain undervalued. I'm also committed to collecting several other artists, including Marlene Dumas and Kai Althoff. And I'm beginning to focus more on artists who are of significant historical importance, such as Joseph Beuys.

Miami has obviously seen a huge amount of development over the last few years, some of it quite striking architecturally. What are two or three of the buildings that have arisen over the last year or two that visitors should make an extra effort to see?

This is a little self-serving, but the most important project is Aqua. That's because it's really the first project to reconcile the rift between New Urbanism and Modernism. With such an extraordinary combination of art, architecture and design, it really is a must-see.

On a much different scale, the prototypes that [MoMA's chief curator of architecture and design Terence] Reilly and I have designed for some Mies-ian courtyard houses [i.e. inspired by Mies van Der Rohe] are complete. This is a project dramatically smaller in scale than Aqua, but it is quite extraordinary, and there will be some selected private tours during Basel.

But Aqua really can't be missed, with its 10 different architects, 50 structures, the Tuttle, a Kuitca, the Handforth sculpture and several works form my collection.