Skanska to build Miami’s Patricia and Phillip Frost Museum of Science

Skanska USA announced that it signed a $101 million contract to build one of the largest and most iconic structures now under way in Miami: The Patricia & Phillip Frost Museum of Science.

The Grimshaw Architects-designed, 250,000-sf Frost Museum of Science will serve as an economic engine and cultural anchor for Miami’s fast-growing urban core. Upon completion in the summer of 2016, the museum is projected to attract more than 600,000 visitors to downtown Miami each year.

The museum is located within the new Museum Park complex, adjacent to the Pérez Art Museum Miami, overlooking Biscayne Bay and PortMiami.

Highlights of the new science museum will include a state-of-the-art planetarium, a 500,000-gallon saltwater aquarium, a five-story Innovation Center and café, a sustainable roof with a hydroponic garden, and numerous exhibition galleries. The project will pursue LEED Platinum certification.

“We have been working with Skanska for seven months, and we’re pleased with the progress,” said Gillian Thomas, the museum’s president and CEO. “While we still have work to do with the building and exhibitions, our new facility is quickly advancing in the heart of downtown Miami. We can now begin to envision our completion and the impact this museum will have on the region.”

The Frost Museum of Science, accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and a member of the Association of Science and Technology Centers.

Last September, AIA San Francisco awarded the Professional Category in its 2021 Future Classroom Competition to a five-person team from Culver City, Calif.-based Berliner Architects. The firm was selected for its “Learning Everywhere” idea that features a mobile strategy for education at school, home, on field trips, and in transit. BD+C's John Caulfield discuss that concept with Richard Berliner, AIA, Principal, Berliner Architects.

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