Browns Hotel/Prime 112

Miami Beach, Florida | 2004

Browns was the first hotel in Miami Beach, and an archetype for the future generations of glamorous hotels that made the city America’s winter playground. The vernacular wood framed and wood clad structure was cocooned in stucco during the 1930s and slipped into obscurity until its renovation.

The restoration, completed by S+A in 2004, was the first adaptive re-use of a commercial wood structure in Miami Beach, requiring careful investigation and innovative solutions. Incorporating innovative life-safety improvements, the building’s pine structures were recuperated and refurbished, while the historic front porch was reconstrctued completely. The ground floor was retrofitted as a restaurant while the upper floor’s hotel rooms were expanded to provde spacious suites. The restaurant, Prime 112, has become one of the most successful dining establishments on Miami Beach.

Awards:
2010 Urban Land Institute Vision Award - finalist
2005 AIA Florida Merit Award /Unbuilt
2005 Dade Heritage Trust Award
2004 Miami Design Preservation League Capitman Award

Photos by Robin Hill