800 Lincoln Road

Building Area : 33,192 SF
Building Status : Completed 2019

Built in 1936 and designed by Robert Law Reed, 800 Lincoln Road was originally home to the Burdines Department Store. The streamlined steel and concrete frame structure was originally intended to serve as a pedestal for the future addition of five more stories. After Burdines moved to a new, larger structure on the corner of Meridian and 17th Street, the building was occupied by the Richard’s Department Store and several other commercial businesses before becoming home to Art Center South Florida.

Decades of neglect had covered the original surfaces with layers of paint and had seen the loss of storefront area, a major entry feature and important trim elements. The building was acquired in 2014 with the new owner intent on the restoration of the façades and the expansion of the retail area.

The design is focused on two major initiatives: bringing back the original character of the building – restoring the cast concrete panels that made up the façade skin and the polished aluminum trim that established discrete bands of diverse surface treatments – and establishing a clear demarcation between the addition and the original building. The addition retains the use of concrete as a surface material, but differentiates itself by using board-formed concrete, with its rough texture, in contrast to the smooth surface of the original panels. The volume of the addition is setback from the plane of the original building and is separated from the historic structure by a continuous band of glass that runs from the entry to the addition at the southern edge of the historic volume up to the rooftop restaurant.