Diller Scofidio + Renfro wraps Cartier Miami in glass for "sense of mystique"

American architecture studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro has completed an expansion to the Miami flagship store of jewellery brand Cartier, which has a bulbous facade informed by a vintage Cartier piece.

Located in Miami's Design District, on the corner of NE 39th St and the walking corridor Paseo Ponti, the building has a wraparound facade designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro to be semi-transparent and preserve the store's "sense of mystique", according to the studio.

Cartier Miami — Diller Scofidio + Renfro have completed updates to Cartier's Miami flagship store

The glass facade scallops around the building's perimeter on both levels and forms a cross above its entrance. The glass features a lightly etched pattern "adapted from a 1909 Cartier brooch," according to Diller Scofidio + Renfro founding partner Elizabeth Diller.

"It's a privilege to continue our dialogue with Cartier with Miami's flagship opening in the heart of the Design District," said Diller.

"We conceived the wraparound facade in undulating glass to draw in passersby while knitting together the store and the street. Etched on its surface is a pattern adapted from a 1909 Cartier brooch, which produces a diaphanous effect, allowing views into the store while preserving its sense of mystique."

The two levels of the store are largely open on the interior, which was outfitted by New York-based interior designer Laura Gonzalez and informed by Miami's natural landscape.

White display units trimmed in a soft gold fill the display floors, which are offset by light pink and blue tones throughout the space. In some corners, such as those that wrap around a display counter on the second level, the walls are rippled.

Large, white ceiling soffits also contain organically-shaped cut-outs, while the second level contains structural columns covered in leaf-shaped panels.

A "VIP room" on the second level also contains a textured column and a ceiling with small orbs that descend along the perimeter. The space is covered in a leafy wallpaper and a light green carpet with a rippled pattern, while the furniture features soft curves.

The building also contains a roof terrace, which was outfitted with plants and seating areas.

The two levels are connected by a Camelia-green marble staircase lined in gold stringers and handrails.

A bright mural depicting coral, palm trees, and Miami's skyline lines the wall behind it.

"I imagined the store as a sensory journey," said Gonzalez. "Each space evokes a different emotion: vitality and movement at the entrance, intimacy in the VIP lounges on the first floor, conviviality on the terrace with its welcoming, custom-made wavy benches."

"The entire journey is designed as a succession of landscapes intended to arouse curiosity and wonder."