The Vero Beach Museum of Art (VBMA) in Florida has announced the appointment of Allied Works Architecture to lead the expansion and renovation project. The selection process took over nine months and it entailed a line-up of 13 national architectural firms and an eventual short-list. The winning design team will be led by Allied Works founder Brad Cloepfil and Principals Chelsea Grassinger and Gabe Smith. The expansion and renovation process is expected to be completed by 2026.
The Vero Beach Museum of Art (VBMA) is a 35-year-old, private non-profit institution. It provides a wide range of educational projects alongside its growing art collection, which is centered around American Modernism and global contemporary art. Allied Works will begin the design process with an intensive research and exploration phase this summer. Responding to the immense population growth in Florida, the firm will track the trajectory of the Museum and envision a platform for expansion over time. According to the design team, one important source of inspiration will come from the landscape, as the team aims to employ a holistic resiliency strategy that will extend beyond the Museum’s façade.
Brad Cloepfil, Chelsea Grassinger, Gabe Smith, and their team fully embraced the complexities and opportunities of our project, which involves opening up to a lush park environment while simultaneously building out a more resilient campus. Allied Works has the right experience – including extensive experience working on museums in high humidity coastal areas and the creative design thinking to address these challenges. - Brady Roberts, VBMA Executive Director/CEO
Founded in 1994, Allied Works is an interdisciplinary architecture and design practice with offices in Portland, Oregon, and New York City. The office is widely recognized for its arts and cultural projects, among them the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, which has been acclaimed for its nuanced approach to light and space, the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis, the University of Michigan Museum of Art, and the Benton County Historical Society Corvallis Museum in Oregon.
