New features added to an historic building are conceived in glass.

Along Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, the restoration and adaptive use of a patio building into retail space required adding several important new elements. In order that these appear ephemeral, and distinct from the historic structure, each was conceived as glass: A glass stair connects the ground and second floors; a skylight bridges the rear of the property, enclosing the former patio; and glass floor extension and guardrails enable the use of the former roofs.

The stair, constructed in the building's center passageway, was designed to emphasize transparency and structural independence from the surrounding architectural features. High-tension stainless steel
cables span from a new concrete foundation to the building's roof structure. Cables are crossed beneath the stair to increase stability, furthered by the stainless steel handrail. The crossing of the cables evokes the form of a butterfly, a suggestion of ultimate lightness. The skylight spanning the rear of the building remains clear of the historic one-story patio structure, and allows use of the roof as a second floor. It is structured as a scissor truss and spans the full fifty-foot
width of the lot. All elements of cooling and fire protection are exposed beneath this luminous canopy. Glass floor extensions and guardrails expand the usable space of the second floor, while also revealing their contemporary vintage (When occupied, the skylit space will be terminated by a large mural artwork). The use of glass as both structural and expressive features of the design required careful
engineering, specification and attention to detail.