Snøhetta’s intention for the museum is centered on positivity, seeking to provide the space with structural and metaphorical lightness to translate the museum’s light-hearted and free-spirited perspective into a collection of interiors that embrace diversity, laughter, art, and unity through a series of permanent and temporary collections that complement the museum’s New York City-based approach with a new artistic approach.
The inaugural installation of the Museum of Sex in Miami includes among its interactive leisure spaces the first solo exhibition in the United States by Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama, known for his depictions of female robots, where he explores the eroticism of the human body. In addition, as a permanent installation, the museum presents an immersive “fairground” that details on a larger scale the New York exhibition of “Super Funland: Journey into the Erotic Carnival.”
Museum of Sex by Snøhetta. Photograph by Michael Stavaridis.
Project description by Snøhetta
Snøhetta converts Miami warehouse for the Museum of Sex's newest outpost.
A multifunctional center to explore the history, evolution, and cultural significance of human desire.
From fine art and historical collectibles to film, the Museum of Sex preserves an ever-growing collection of sexuality-related ephemera with exhibitions and programming that reveals the best of current scholarship while sparking public discourse and engagement of the topic. It's fun too!
Located in the Miami neighborhood of Allapattah, the new iteration of the Museum of Sex is a sensory experience about more than just the human body, but an exploration of form, space, and play for adults. The 32,000 sq ft building was the former home of the Miami Herald distribution center and is the newest development within a post-industrial, emerging cultural hub. The space will house a collection of permanent and temporary exhibitions and is the second location for the New York City-based museum.
Design played an integral role in the execution of the museum’s mission to preserve and present the history, evolution, and cultural significance of human desire. As collaborators on the project, we produced design concepts for the exterior, lobby and retail store, the temporary exhibition space, the Carnal Carnival bar, as well as the galleries and immersive experiences. Our concepts included a 40-foot-wide "rococo style" mermaid tank and fountain and 20 other interactive spaces and games for the permanent exhibition Super Funland, a grand space centered on the erotic history of the carnival.
"Snøhetta's collaboration with the Museum of Sex is rooted in positivity and joy. As we have pursued creating places that bring people together, our team embraced the levity that characterizes Museum of Sex, working to translate this perspective into a collection of interiors that embrace fun, laughter, and unity."
Snøhetta interior architecture discipline director, Anne-Rachel Schiffmann.
The inaugural exhibition of the Miami outpost includes work by Hajime Sorayama, known for his detailed portrayals of feminine robots. The Japanese artist's first solo show in the US explores the eroticism of human bodies through his signature hyperrealist aesthetic, featuring four large-scale ‘sexy robot’ sculptures. Also showing at the museum is a scaled-up version of the exhibition that has entertained New Yorkers since 2019, ‘Super Funland: Journey into the Erotic Carnival’. This permanent installation, inspired by the eroticism of the carnival, presents an immersive ‘fairground’ with an otherworldly triptych by Hajime Sorayama, measuring over 14 ft. high.
This purpose-built space is an environment for friends to come together, for encouraging wonder while strolling the multicolored halls of memorabilia, and for educating audiences on the pivotal and diverse role of sensuality within the realms of the arts, science, and culture.
