On november of 2013, the british architect was asked to transform the historic grain silo complex. The brief given to Heatherwick Studio was to reimagine the Grain Silo Complex at the V&A Waterfront with an architectural intervention inspired by its own historic character. The project called for a solution that would be unique for Africa and create the highest possible quality of exhibition space for the work displayed inside.
Imagine forty-two 33 metre high concrete tubes each with a diameter of 5.5 metres, with no real open space to experience the volume from within. Imagine redesigning this into a functional space that will not only pay tribute to its original industrial design and soul, but will become a major, not-for-profit cultural institution housing the most significant collection of contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora.
Zeitz MOCAA will focus on collecting, preserving, researching and exhibiting cutting edge contemporary art from Africa and its Diaspora. Zeitz MOCAA will comprise over 9,500 square meters (102,000 square feet) placing it among leading contemporary art museums worldwide. It will be spread over nine floors, of which 6,000 square meters (65,000 square feet) will be dedicated to exhibition space.
The new Executive Director and Chief Curator of Zeitz MOCAA will be Mark Coetzee, who for many years has been the Cultural Specialist of the Zeitz Foundation and the Curator for the Zeitz Collection. Coetzee has relocated to South Africa after a 25 year international career. Coetzee explains: “Zeitz MOCAA will constitute a re-imagining of a museum within an African context: celebrate Africa preserving its own cultural legacy, writing its own history and defining itself on its own terms. The vision of the V&A Waterfront and Jochen Zeitz will have major impact for the visual art world and for Cape Town.”
Currently the Zeitz Collection is on display at Segera Retreat and at Zeitz MOCAA Pavilion at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.
