An historic theater building was transformed and modernized through creative adaptive use. The design approach balances radical interventions with sensitive restoration.

In 2007, the New World Symphony, the City of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County agreed upon a public/private partnership to develop a new state-of-the-art performance facility just behind the symphony’s quarters at the Lincoln Theater on Lincoln Road. Designed by Frank Gehry, the new facility was a key element in the City Center Redevelopment Project, a joint venture to inject new vitality into Miami Beach’s 17th Street Corridor. New World Symphony Center opened in September 2011. An important financial and civic component of that project was the redevelopment of Lincoln Theater for commercial use. The theater’s restoration and adaptive use was designed by S+A to propagate the building’s history as a public space and as a theater, and acknowledge its cultural position on Lincoln Road.

The restoration and adaptive use of the 1936 cinema/theater for retail use carefully balances commercial, public and historic identities to create a new hybrid image and identity. S+A designed the building to be a visible landmark and gateway to Lincoln Road from the Convention Center district. Among the many theaters along Lincoln Road and on Miami Beach, this project represents the only adaptive use of a theater space that maintains its identity as a theater.

An important element of S+A's design is the transformation of the theater volume, which accommodates the retail use while retaining its theatricality. The theater floor is newly connected with its tiered mezzanine, and the original scalloped ceiling has been restored. The transformation of the theater volume is also visible on the outside, where a blank concrete wall in the rear of the building was peeled away to unveil an enlivened, glowing glass facade that showcases the interior. This use of creative tectonics re-energized the formerly barren alley and presents a strong counterpoint to the nearby Symphony complex.