five different studios design 'wildly varied' facades for miami's museum garage

after more than two years of planning and construction, the seven-story, mixed-use ‘museum garage’ is now part of the miami design district. the structure’s facade, which constitutes its most striking feature, is composed of five individual and radically different pieces designed by WORKac, nicolas buffe, clavel arquitectos, K/R and j. mayer h.

WORKac’s ant farm frames miniature public spaces
all images by imagen subliminal (miguel de guzman + rocio romero), courtesy of the respective studios

terence riley of K/R architects drew from ‘exquisite corpse’ – a surrealist parlor game that encourages different authors to compose collective image collages independent of each other’s designs – to invite five architecture and design firms to contribute to museum garage‘s facade project. the seemingly unconnected designs create a multifaceted collage that acts as a unique, architectural version of the parlor game. titled ant farm, the work of new york-based WORKac celebrates social interaction, sustainability, art, music, and the landscape. the facade features a perforated metal screen that frames human activity similar to that of an ant colony, revealing and concealing miniature public spaces such as a garden, a lending library, art space, and playground. blending with the ant colony, berlin-based j.mayer h.‘s design ‘XOX’ includes gigantic interlocking puzzle pieces that recall the aerodynamic forms of automotive design with various patterns and forms.

j. mayer h. and WORKac at the corner of NE 1st avenue and NE 41st street

along 41st street, nicolas buffe has designed ‘serious play’, a facade constructed with a dark perforated metal backdrop, which serves as the entrance and exit of the garage. serious play includes an unexpected juxtaposition of the artist’s two passions, anime, tokusatsu, and manga with rococo and baroque architecture. titled ‘barricades’, the design by new york and miami-based K/R draws from the city’s automotive landscape, particularly it’s orange and white-striped traffic barriers. the brightly colored screen includes fifteen ‘windows’ framed in mirror stainless steel, complete with concrete planters that pop out above the sidewalk. sitting between buffe and K/R’s designs, ‘urban jam’ by clavel arquitectos makes another reference to miami’s automotive landscape with a series of 45 ‘gravity-defying’ car bodies rendered in metallic gold and silver. the facade draws from the rebirth of urban life in the miami design district where ‘old structures and discarded spaces have been revived by architectural and urban designs.’

nicolas buffe’s facade includes 2D and 3D elements crafted from laser- cut metals and fiber resin plastic