When Cartier opened a flagship boutique in Miami’s Design District in 2012, the area was still in the early stages of transforming into a luxury destination, thanks to an alchemic mix of high-end shopping and dining, eye-catching architecture, and adventurous art. While the neighborhood’s evolution continues apace, with ambitious plans for expansion, Cartier decided that its boutique—outfitted with a pared-down classic Parisian polish—was ripe for reimagining. For the upscale brands with outposts in these 18 square blocks, it’s now practically de rigueur to have an attention-grabbing space by an international design star. Cartier enlisted two.
To rethink the exterior architecture, the jeweler tapped Elizabeth Diller, a founding partner of New York firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, who had previously worked with the brand on several museum exhibitions. For the 18,500-square-foot interiors, Cartier tasked its current go-to designer, Paris-based Laura Gonzalez, with conjuring a Miami-tailored version of the glamorous, artisanal maximalism she has deployed across more than a dozen of the company’s retail locations worldwide.
Interiors By Laura Gonzalez Reflect Cartier’s Tropical Locale
“The challenge was to produce a store as elegantly understated as the Cartier brand yet as exuberant as the Design District, which has become synonymous with storefront architecture as spectacle,” Diller recalls. Working with the facade consultant Front, she and the DS+R team came up with an arresting wraparound concept of undulating glass set within a framework of champagne bronze–finished aluminum. Concave at the base and convex at the top, the glass panels each measure 22 feet high, making them “among the largest complex-curvature insulated units ever produced,” according to Diller.
Projecting a sense of movement and dynamism, the facade sets a tone that feels both inventive and traditional, robust and refined. Adding to the effect is a subtle geometric frit pattern in the glass that was adapted from a 1909 Cartier brooch. “The motif was multiplied and interlaced to compose a contemporary mashrabiya-like screen,” Diller continues. “It becomes a diaphanous veil that hints at what’s within while keeping its mystery.”
Unabashed Architecture Of Joy
Inside, Gonzalez concocted an immersive environment she describes as an “arty and slightly offbeat supernatural oasis” inspired by Miami’s architecture and natural landscape as well as “the unique vibe of the Design District,” she says. Arrayed with distinctive materials throughout, the boutique’s two retail floors and rooftop terrace are enlivened by an exuberant palette that mingles corals and pinks with watery shades of seafoam and turquoise, lush greens, tropical reds, and sunny yellows.
It’s an unabashed architecture of joy, to borrow a phrase from Morris Lapidus, another master of seduction who left a major imprint on Miami. One can see echoes of his influence in Gonzalez’s use of biomorphic ceiling coves, decorative columns, theatrical recessed lighting. But Gonzalez brought her own brand of elevated panache, not least with the custom elements she commissioned from some of her favorite artisan collaborators. On the street level, for example, mosaic maestro Pierre Mesguich created shimmering marble flooring, hand laid in a pattern of variously colored interlacing swirls “inspired by the play of shifting reflections on water,” says Gonzalez, who compares the composition to paintings by Brice Marden. Animating the back wall along the boutique’s staircase—in the same champagne finish as the facade’s framework—is a two-story mural painted by François Mascarello that serves as a visual focal point. With references to both Miami and historic Cartier jewelry designs, it’s a tropical fantasia incorporating motifs such as coral, leafy palms, a flamingo, and a graphic sunburst.
Explore Laura Gonzalez’s work on the interiors for an intimate Cartier boutique in Tokyo in this feature from our April 2026 issue.
Craftsmanship Meets Innovation In Cartier’s Miami Flagship
Other standout commissions include four freestanding scallop-top resin screens that the cutting-edge materials studio Cogitech produced in a variety of gradient hues as sculptural elements in lounges and sitting areas. In the customer-service area, Gonzalez partnered with ceramist Alexandra Carron to create a curved counter covered in a relief mosaic of celadon and gold porcelain tiles. Behind the counter, decorative painter Solène Eloy conjured a dreamy undersea world of coral and anemones in pale washes and shimmering gold leaf. “There’s a mix of traditional craftsmanship and innovative techniques, a direct link to the spirit that has always driven creation at Cartier,” explains Gonzalez, who also incorporated a number of her own furnishings and lighting. Her sofas, armchairs, and stools appoint the lounges and private viewing rooms, while large versions of her hand-molded glass Lilypad chandeliers are suspended above display cases on the ground floor.
Some of those pieces are part of the collection she launched in 2018 and continues to grow. Select designs are sold through the Invisible Collection, StudioTwentySeven, and 1stDibs, as well as on her website and at her showrooms in Paris and New York. She opened the latter in 2024, as her business—which now employs close to 50 people—expands its U.S. client base.
And Gonzalez’s partnership with Cartier continues. Next up is her revamp of the company’s flagship Hong Kong boutique, slated to be unveiled early next year. Expect serious pizzazz. As Gonzalez herself has suggested, compelling retail today has to be more than just shopping—it has to be an experience.
Gonzalez paired her Rio sofa with one of her Kyoto chairs in a private lounge. In the Coral lounge, a sea life–themed wallcovering serves as a backdrop for a custom mirror. Gonzalez’s Babylone stools are among her furnishings in the top-floor VIP lounge.
PROJECT TEAM
MILES NELLIGAN; MATT OSTROW; AYAT FADAIFARD; ROCIO CROSETTO BRIZZIO; JEFFREY WONG: DILLER SCOFIDIO + RENFRO. ATMOSPHERE DESIGN GROUP: BASE BUILDING ARCHITECT OF RECORD. T+M LIGHTING: LIGHTING CONSULTANT. FRONT: FACADE CONSULTANT. FABBRICA: FACADE FABRICATOR. TIANJIN NORTHGLASS: GLASS FABRICATOR. PALLADIO MOULDINGS: PLASTERWORK. JRM CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT: GENERAL CONTRACTOR.
PROJECT SOURCES
FROM FRONT ALEXANDRA CARRON: BAR MOSAIC TILE (CUSTOMER SERVICE). ROYAL BOTANIA: PINK SOFA (TERRACE). RH: CHAIRS. PAOLA LENTI: UMBRELLAS. INTERLUDE HOME: NESTING TABLES (GREEN LOUNGE). PINTON: CARPET. STROHEIM: WALLCOVERING (CORAL LOUNGE). BLEU NATURE: COFFEE TABLE. THROUGHOUT MANUEL CANOVAS; CHRISTOPHER FARR; PIERRE FREY; SCHUMACHER; YARN COLLECTIVE: UPHOLSTERY FABRICS. MESGUICHMOSAIK: CUSTOM MOSAIC FLOORING. MLM CRÉATION: CUSTOM CARPET.
Source: https://interiordesign.net