MCAD takes shape

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miami center
Miami Architectural Photographer sandydewitt.com

The Miami Center for Architecture and Design is taking shape, with fascinating construction progress photos posted on Tumblr and a new website. The center, designed by Allan Shulman, is scheduled to open in October.

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) Miami project, initiated by John Forbes, will convert the old post office in downtown Miami a focal point for the community’s architects and designers.  The project, built by Forbes Construction (associated with Forbes Architects), will encompass 5,000 sq. ft. on two floors. “AIA Miami will have new tools to go public,” the AIA newsletter says.

Miami joins the ranks of many great cities where architectural culture is enhanced through an Architecture Center. But architectural culture in our city is not a new concept. Many remember AIA Miami’s 1980s home in the Douglas Entrance in Coral Gables and an active Architecture Club with lectures in the Strand on Miami Beach. Miami’s schools of architecture, its  active preservation community, and a vibrant Art in Public Places program have all raised the level of discourse in our city. We hope to build on these roots. The very fact of the Center brings our chapter to a new level of operational capacity, as well as engagement in Miami.

miami center
Miami Architectural Photographer sandydewitt.com

MCAD will serve the AIA as its visible new home in the very center of the city. The Center will have space for exhibitions, permitting us to create or host numerous shows which will mount several major exhibitions at the Center. MCAD will also have space for lectures, conferences, continuing education and other presentations. It will have studios, so we can host workshops, as well as academic groups from around the world. Our collaboration with the Downtown Development Authority means it will also function as a visitors’ center, drawing thousands of tourists. The Center is imperative in making us more accessible, and more connected: a shared, neutral ground for all kinds of activity, and even a launch pad for initiatives yet to be envisioned.

View some of the construction photos here. 

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