Pier-Museum

Located at the end of Fifth Avenue leading to South Beach, in the Miami Beach Area, is a “Pier-Museum” which, pointing out to sea, stands a horizontal monument to all the immigrants who have arrived on these shores in search of a better future. This 100 meter long structure points out to sea off Miami Beach and houses a museum in which the personal effects, souvenirs and photos belonging to the new generation of immigrants are exhibited – those who came to the city of Miami from the 1950’s to the 1980’s in search of their own personal American Dream.

The Pier-Museum functions not only as an architectural landmark, but as as a space commemorating the new urban dynamic of the city, the global multiculturalism which defines the beginning of the 21st century.

The museum program includes an Entrance Hall, Temporary Exhibition Room, Permanent Exhibition Room, Storage Facilities, Restrooms, Maintenance Facility, Security, Offices and Cafeteria.

The entire Pier-Museum monument glows at night and during the day the light shafts will serve as markers in the sand of the unseen journey happening in the void below the beach. Swimmers and boaters may choose to approach the island via the water making it both a beacon and a refuge.

Visitors to the Pier-Museum will enter the museum by descending into a void below the beach. The void  is populated by 200 light shafts and 10 commemorative spaces  along the journey to the final destination which is the museum.  Upon arriving at the museum, visitors enter an island off the coast of Miami. The island glows with a thousand points of light that were generated through the abstraction of a popular Cuban painting. Visitors may enter the cafe, the exhibition spaces, the library and the multi purpose room that flanks the auditorium and has views to the glowing void below.

Project Date: 2009
Project Team: Ronald Rael, Virginia San Fratello
Additional Information: The Miami Pier-Museum was awarded 2nd place in the Arquitectum Miami Pier-Museum Competition