ICA Miami is officially doubling in size, as the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami has just unveiled plans for a 30,000-square-foot second building on the same block as its home in Miami's Design District, set to open in late 2027 with eight new galleries, including the first the museum has ever devoted to its permanent collection. The building, which the museum bought in 2024, will become the second site in a new multi-site campus, with a full third floor built for talks, performances, and symposia and a redesigned, transparent entrance that opens the museum onto the street.
Gensler has been appointed to lead the design and renovation of the building at 23 NE 41st Street, which will double the museum's facilities for programming. The first and second floors will each hold four new galleries. Among them will be ICA Miami's first dedicated rooms for its permanent collection, joined by additional galleries for special exhibitions. The third floor will work as a flexible venue for talks, lectures, symposia, performances, and other public programs. Outside, the plans call for a new facade and an arrival sequence meant to connect the building with the surrounding public realm, and the outdoor areas will be renovated with shaded courtyards and sculptural landscapes designed for gathering and other public uses.
Alex Gartenfeld, ICA Miami's Irma and Norman Braman Executive Director and Chief Curator, tied the second building to the museum's first ten years. "This expansion is a natural next step for ICA Miami as we build upon the incredible community response we have received in our first decade, and our dynamic and continuously evolving exhibitions program and collection," he said. "Gensler has fully embraced the goals of the project and the operational and programmatic needs that will complement our existing program and facilities." Bevin Savage Yamazaki, Gensler's Global Culture & Museums Leader, said the renovation "will strengthen ICA Miami's ability to support artists, expand learning, and create a true platform for exchange and belonging in one of the most dynamic cultural cities in the world."
The money behind it is a $40 million capital campaign funded entirely through private contributions. The campaign paid for the museum's acquisition of the building in 2024 and is nearing completion, with the remaining funding going toward the design and renovation. Early contributions came from private foundations and individuals, with significant participation from ICA Miami's Board of Trustees and in-kind support from longtime patron Craig Robins. Separately, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded the museum a $5 million grant to expand its digital innovation initiatives.
The block the museum is doubling down on sits in the middle of a Design District that is adding buildings on nearly every side. Robins' Miami Design District Associates is building Snøhetta's Sweetbird North a few streets away, rising now and set to deliver in 2028, and Kengo Kuma's MIRAI Design District is rising on the same timeline. Fouquet's Hotel and Residences, the neighborhood's first private residential address, is expected to deliver in 2030, and The Ursa, a 20-story office building, is expected to deliver in 2029. ICA Miami's second building is the one project in that pipeline that charges nothing at the door. ICA Miami was founded in 2014 and has kept admission free, along with access to its educational programs, since the beginning. In that time it has organized nearly 100 exhibitions, supported more than 1,000 artists through exhibitions and acquisitions, and received more than 1 million visitors.