Pérez Art Museum

The Miami Art Museum designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron will be an anchor for the new 30 acre museum park in downtown Miami on Biscayne Bay.
The architecture of the museum is adapted to the climatic conditions of the region. The interior space is defined mostly by floor high glass facades spanning between enclosed cubes located underneath a large roof. In combination with hanging gardens this creates a space that mediates between the park, the city and the museum.
Knippers Helbig was engaged for design development of the facade by the contractor seele, Inc.
The building is located in the middle of a hurricane region and the codified performance requirements for the facades are quite onerous. The glass panels must withstand a testing regimen consisting of missile impact and pressure cycles which simulate the effects caused by hurricanes.
The facade mullions are of particular interest which the architect specified to be made of precast concrete. An ultra high-performance concrete (UHPC) was chosen from which very slender mullions were designed.