Architectural Firm Johnston Marklee to Lead Expansion Project at Miami’s Bass Museum
The plans include a new pavilion and elevated exhibition gallery, as well as flexible spaces for increased public access
On Tuesday, the Bass Museum of Art announced architectural firm Johnston Marklee will lead a planned expansion project that will include flexible spaces and increased public access to programs and artworks. The museum will expand its original Arata Isozaki-designed campus concept with a new pavilion and elevated exhibition gallery, as well as a multipurpose outdoor patio.
“Having just celebrated our 60th year, we are firmly focused on the future, and this expansion is a vital part of that vision, allowing us to deepen our engagement with artists and our community by creating new, flexible spaces to gather, reflect, and experience art in meaningful ways,” says Silvia Karman Cubiñá, the museum’s executive director. “We cannot wait to unveil it and to welcome visitors from near and far.”
For Johnston Marklee, the project marks the latest in a flurry of museum-led projects, which include The Menil Drawing Institute on the campus of the Menil Collection in Houston, a renovation of the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and a permanent home for the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program at the Roy Lichtenstein Studio in Greenwich Village.
“Through careful analysis of light and shadow, space and volume, and the surrounding park and urban context, we are planning a transformative project that will increase public access to the museum’s programs and artworks,” says Sharon Johnston, FAIA, founding partner of Johnston Marklee.