#lucite

Lucite Porygon

'Space-Age McDonald's' - McDonald's at Miami International Airport (1981)

"Patrons of the McDonald's at Miami International Airport get their "break today" in an environment of tomorrow. The fast food restaurant offers more than hamburgers to elite international travelers. In a space that floats atop the four-story international arrival/departure complex, visitors are greeted by futuristic motifs that reach beyond the chain's traditional golden arches into the universe itself. Part of a satellite building connected to the airport's central facility by means of a monorail, this McDonald's has qualities of a space ship that defy earthly orientation. Six glass-enclosed floating "pods" and plaster "ice cubes" were designed to organize space, yet contribute to fluid transition between lounge, meeting room, dining area, and, yes, a bar concession operated by Marriott Corp. Transparent materials—Lucite and glass—are used in seating, tables, walls, and ceiling to achieve the effect of limitless, undefined space."

Designed by Larry Seitz Associates, Inc. & Robert Bradford Browne, AIA

The stairway doesn't have to be just an unadorned passageway. In this house, it's become a library. While the shelves offer storage, the books become a kind of decoration, visible from upstairs and down.