Celebrating Miami

Creating and Promoting Miami’s Art and Culture

Location: Miami, Florida

Program: Art and Cultural Center

The Miami Art and Cultural Center in Overtown, Miami is located at the entry to the Historic neighborhood, surrounded by multiple pedestrian heavy programs such as the theatre, garages and multiple train stations. These assets translate into architecture at the pedestrian level in a way that invites people in and through, creating interlocking spaces, intersections, and connections in the site for people to walk through rather than around. By identifying the relationships between interior and exterior spaces informed by the site, masses and paths are made. This becomes a space for community to gather and walk through, breaking the barrier between the street and the complex, therefore creating permeability and establishing links. Designing a permeable space that places pedestrians within the art will create and promote opportunities for Miami, allowing it to continue to grow as a design exhibition and event destination for designers and artists while fostering local work. A space is created that caters to and places a spotlight on Miami’s unique art and cultural scene by providing studio space as well as shops for local artist to work and sell their crafts, rotating spotlight exhibitions, and event space.

Program Relationships/Strategies

The form studies analyze how the surrounding programs translate into the site plan in a way that invites pedestrians and creates connections through the site. Contemporary museums need to establish a relationship with the communities, open up and break from the typology of sheltered vessels. This can be done by softening the barrier between the museum and the street, allowing the public to extend as far into the space as possible. Guiding the street into the site creates natural meeting spaces and allows the structure to open in all directions and angles into Overtown, creating connections and views.

Due to the proximity of the Historic Lyric Theatre, the brightline station, brightline garage, and metrorail station, the ground floor is designed for pedestrians and the community. It is meant for people to walk through from multiple points of entry and experience these spaces, either as a guest or as a pedestrian crossing through the site rather than around. To the West facing Overtown is the promenade, which acts as an exhibition area as well as public green space. Art markets, pop-ups, and more can occur in this main plot. There are various secondary exhibition spaces throughout the site, both green space and water features.