Contemporary Art Museum Tops Out in Miami’s Design District

By Robert Demeter

Rendering of ICA Miami

Miami—The Institute for Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) has recently topped out in the city’s Design District.

The topping out of ICA Miami’s new home brings the 37,500-square-foot museum, along with its outdoor sculpture garden, one step closer to completion. With the property’s exterior development wrapping up, construction of the museum’s galleries and interior spaces are scheduled to begin soon. The museum is expected to open in late 2017.

“The new ICA Miami will be a cultural anchor and gathering place for the Design District, a forum for the exchange of ideas, and an exhibition space for established and emerging artists,” said Ellen Salpeter, director of ICA Miami, in prepared remarks. “Our new home will also help catalyze the Miami Design District and continue to elevate our neighborhood into an internationally known cultural destination.”

ICA Miami is being designed by Aranguren & Gallegos Arquitectos. The museum, the first U.S. construction project designed by the Spanish firm, will feature a large exhibition area with 20,000 square feet of adjustable gallery spaces across three floors, a 15,000-square-foot sculpture garden, and new spaces for educational and community programs. The entrance, on the museum’s southern side, will have a dynamic façade of interlocking metal triangles and lighted panels. The northern façade, in contrast, will feature a three-story curtain wall of windows bringing natural light into the museum’s galleries, with views of the sculpture garden and surrounding cityscape.

Design and construction of ICA Miami’s permanent home has been made possible by capital provided from Irma and Norman Braman, and the donation of land granted by the Miami Design District Associates.

“We embarked on the construction of ICA Miami’s new home to create a vital and enduring cultural resource for Miami that fosters appreciation for the work of the most innovative artists of our time,” said Irma Braman, co-chair of ICA Miami’s Board of Trustees, in a statement.

Image courtesy of ICA Miami website