The Butterfly Theater is a living pavilion—part sculpture, part habitat, part playground. It takes inspiration from the elegance of flamingos and the presence of butterflies in Miami Beach, transforming the park’s open center into a place of movement, color, and quiet spectacle. It’s both a temporary event and a potential permanent resident: a soft landmark in the city’s landscape.
Like a flock of flamingos wading in shallow water, a field of thin steel columns stands lightly across the grass. Some are paired, some are staggered, creating a sense of rhythm and flow. Painted in soft, bright colors, they form a loose grid that’s playful, navigable, and ever-changing depending on your point of view.
PROGRAM: Butterfly Habitat
CONTEXT: Miami Beach, Florida, USA
SITE: Flamingo Park
TEAM: Bryan Maddock, Grace Infante
ORGANIZER: The City of Miami Beach
The Butterfly Theater’s construction system is simple and expressive: a concrete footer anchors paired “flamingo-leg” steel columns. These rise to support a circular steel pipe ring wrapped in translucent HDPE fabric. Atop each structure, a shallow tray holds honey water and colored pebbles, forming a habitat for butterflies. This layered assembly unites structure, ecology, and form in one elegant system.
