Building as Poem: The design for the expansion of the Betsy Hotel into the Carlton Hotel behind it synthesizes boutique hotel, cultural facility, and urban intervention.

Inspired by the works of a major American poet, the owners conceived the hotel as a platform for their philanthropic family foundation: P.A.C.E. (philanthropy, arts, culture, and education). The resultant design evolved as an expression of the client’s programmatic needs, mixing levels of boutique hotel and cultural facilities, challenging the idea of buildings as specialized according to use.

The design development considered the preservative nature of the historic Miami Beach Architectural District (South Beach) and injection of new buildings into its urban streetscape. The connection of the two hotels inspired a spatial intervention that would transform the neglected space of two service alleys. Our solution was an Orb: a spherical, pedestrian bridge over the alleys seemingly suspended between the two structures – its polished white surface activated by image projection from the alley.

The completed hotel comprises 130 guestrooms, two restaurants, a conservatory, workroom, library, gallery, and a courtyard serving as a theatrical performance area. A chef’s herb garden surrounds a rooftop amphitheater. Below, poetic works from diverse voices like Langston Hughes, Donald Justice, Mohammed Ali, Campbell McGrath, Julie Marie Wade, and Hyam Plutzik, are etched into aluminum sheets to create the Poetry Rail.

The most daring innovation was the pool deck, hoisted into the sky above the buildings and courtyard as an aerial bridge. The deck offers a platform for swimming and sunning, while the performance space beneath it forms a proscenium, housing theater equipment. Altogether, the hotel offers nearly 15,000 square feet of formal and informal cultural event space.