Gensler to Lead ICA Miami Expansion in Miami’s Design District

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami has appointed Gensler to lead the renovation of a second museum building in the Design District of Miami. The ICA Miami expansion Gensler will deliver is scheduled to open in late 2027, and the 30,000-square-foot facility will double the museum’s existing footprint. The appointment gives the museum a clear path to add space for its collection, its exhibitions and its public programs.

The new building stands at 23 NE 41st Street, on the same block as the current museum, and the institution acquired it in 2024. Because the two buildings share a block, the expansion extends the museum on ground it already occupies rather than moving it to a new district. Gensler will renovate the existing structure instead of starting from an empty site, which sets the scope of the commission.

Inside, the renovation will introduce eight galleries across the first and second floors. These include dedicated spaces for the museum’s permanent collection and for special exhibitions, as well as the Knight Foundation Gallery for New Media. The third floor will serve a different purpose, because it will accommodate talks, lectures, performances and other public events. That arrangement separates the display of art from the programs that surround it, so each can run at the same time.

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The project also reaches beyond the galleries to the edges of the building. Gensler will redesign the entrance and the facade, and it will renovate the outdoor areas to include shaded courtyards and sculptural landscape design. According to the museum, these interventions are intended to create more accessible spaces for public gathering and engagement, which ties the exterior work directly to the museum’s goals for visitors.

Bevin Savage Yamazaki, Global Culture & Museums Leader at Gensler, framed the commission in terms of the museum’s reputation. “ICA Miami exemplifies what a contemporary art museum can be at its best: rigorous, generous, forward-looking, and firmly in the vanguard,” she said. She added that “beyond the addition of galleries, this 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.”

For more background, see our guide to most beautiful museums in the world.