From the Article at Miami New Times Blog;
The new MAM is being designed by Herzog & de Meuron, the same Swiss firm that created the "house of cards" parking garage at 1111 Lincoln Road, often cited for its architectural bravado.
Their design plan for the museum includes a library, an auditorium, classrooms, art and digital media workshop spaces, and a café. The entire structure will sit on an elevated platform and below a canopy, both of which will extend far beyond the museum's walls, creating a shaded veranda and plazas.
They promise lots of natural light and views of the surrounding park and bay as well as innovative landscape integration that melds the tropical park and modernist building. In a crafty design trick, the main gallery level will appear to float between other transparent levels.
The high-concept design makes even us here at New Times, Miami's resident skeptics and cranks, feel inspired. With the foundation now in place, the construction team will begin going vertical, and frankly, 2013 can't get here soon enough.
This has been a long time coming and there were times we never thought the ground breaking would take place. Two things that will tell if this cultural facility will become like all the others in Miami or will this be the beginning of a new era of responsible construction. The first sign will be if the project is finished by its due date and the other more important sign to the public will be if they can complete the project without huge cost overruns. Too many times the public has been promised something only to be saddled later with an enormous unexpected bill. If the local governments want to use public dollars for these new cultural facilities in South Florida they must be able to show responsibility going forward or else the public will forever be turned off to new projects. GL
This is a great step in the right direction. The Miami culture and art scene needs a huge boost to bring it up to the level of other cities, like NYC and LA. A great move!
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