Rising like a beacon of light above the low-rise sprawl of Miami Beach, the Cathedral of Stella Maris appears like a crystalline gem. Shards of prismatic glass enclose interior volume, filtering the Florida sun to illuminate the mass service during the day. Overlapping optical panels reflect the surrounding buildings and the blue sky above, giving the building an ethereal appearance.

Inside, the nave runs east-west. For morning masses, the rising sun lights the altar from behind. Careful attention was paid to the sequence of the procession of the clergy into the nave and up to the alter. The vesting sacristy is located at the west end of the cathedral, from which the clergy exit and proceed to the narthex where they process down the center aisle toward the altar. The tabernacle north of the communion table is accessible directly from the altar platform next to the seats of the altar servers and non-celebrants of the mass. The Eucharistic repository itself is double-sided, so to be accessible from the sacramental chapel on the other side of the wall for holy adoration. A long baptismal font to the south is shared by both the main liturgical space and the adjacent daily chapel divided by a structural shear wall.