Zeitz Mocaa Museum Of Contemporary Arts – A Modern Architectural Masterpiece
Introduction
The newly instated Zeitz Mocaa Museum of Contemporary Arts has become renowned as a modern architectural masterpiece of the 21st century. As part of the HATA 4 Research Paper, I will be critically analysing the building in the following two dimensions: its architectural composition as well as its socio-economic and political composition with respect to South Africa. Through comparisons to various architectural styles of buildings that falls under a similar building type, the paper will draw conclusions to its successes and failures as an art museum and its appropriateness in an African society and context.
The Zeitz Mocaa Museum is regarded as the world’s largest museum dedicated purely to contemporary African Art by both local and international artisans. Its construction reached completion in 2017 and it is located in the up-market, seaside harbour of the city of Cape Town, South Africa known as The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.
Brief History
Unlike most buildings the Zeitz Mocaa can be regarded as a reincarnation of space. The iconic museum that now dominates the business hub of the Waterfront area was initially a derelict industrial building completed in 1921. The old building was a grain silo that had two distinct features, an elevator tower and a storage annex which had been out of use for just under a hundred years. Structural aspects of the initial building are what paved way for the concept that embodies the Zeitz Mocaa as it stands today. Previously appointed heritage restrictions stated that no building in the Waterfront could be higher than the elevator tower thus making it visible from any approach. As a result, the tower acts as “a signifier of its repurposing and regeneration”. According to Matthew Cash, the leader of the project, this aspect and it’s locality by the harbour lead to the analogy of a lighthouse signifying the change.
Architectural Analysis
The development of the Zeitz Mocca, was reliant on three major factors. The first was to “maintain the soulfulness” of the previously existing building which possesed an undeniable historical magnitude. The second was the transformation of a space initially used for grain storage into one designed for art and human experience and lastly the condition of the 100-year-old concrete structure of the original building.
Structure and Design
The existing building is separated into two divisions; The Silo Hotel which accommodates the six floors above the museum in the portion of the building that used to be the elevator tower and the Zeitz Mocca Museum itself which is inclusive of the eight floors going up from ground level within the forty-two grain silos. The building skeleton is a slipform concrete that had reached its maximum hardness in the 100 years from the time of its construction and required reinforcing in some weaker areas and strenuous carving in the tougher areas to achieve an aesthetic of curvilinear excavations. These grain silos or tubes form the fundamental structure of the building and the design outcome was governed by adding and subtracting from this existing matter. A large central space is carved out of the cell structure of the concrete in the shape of an enlarged grain in order to create a social space that allows the original ‘intersecting geometries’ to be perceived in an unpredicted way. The peripheral tubes of the forty-two were cut back significantly and transformed into five gallery floors for exhibition purposes while the carved tubes suspended above the atrium allow daylight penetration from above.
The suspended tubes are sealed with layers of laminated glass that in turn form a walkable platform for a higher-level external sculpture garden. This “in-door out-door” space is contained in what used to be an enclosed grading tower but had slabs of concrete cut out of its structural frame to create the multi-triangular three-dimensional windows well associated with the Silo. The windows themselves are conceptually crafted, as they are inspired by the shape created when grain bulges out of an opening in a container. These features make the garden a substantial aspect of the building as it perpetuates panoramic views of the mountains and Cape Town’s city skyline.
Functionality
In terms of its functionality- the Zeitz Mocca is intended to accommodate contemporary African artwork and create a unique human experience. The buildings design therefore ensures that simply upon entry- one experiences the artistry of the space itself before the art exhibited within it. The foyer is an embodiment of the history of the building and this is acknowledged by the carved-out mass of concrete at the centre in the enlarged shape of a grain.
Thomas Heatherwick, the design Architect of the building, describes the building as follows: “The former grain silo will be becoming a machine that’s working very, very hard and will have eighty different gallery spaces. ” The building is therefore, in and of itself a machine-like sculpture. The remnants of the tubular concrete are utilized for accessibility, circulation and exhibition purposes. Some of the tubes have visible elevators installed that connect all the floors while others incorporate a long set of spiral staircases, as an alternative, from the ground floor to the top floor. The exhibition rooms are defined by crisp, clinical cubic spaces found adjacent to the tubular structure and made to such a minimalism as to not distract from the installations in the rooms. The lighting is also largely artificial to enhance the clarity of the space. Because the rooms are linked from one to the other, circulation within the space is fluid and creates an experience which is in accordance with the poetry of the art’s progressiveness.
Architectural Style
Undoubtedly, the style defined by the Zeitz Mocca Museum is within the parameters of Contemporary Architecture. This can be perceived by the inclusion of numerous styles and influences from various eras, particularly the late twentieth century. For example, in terms of its materiality, the building’s cold concrete shell was maintained without unnecessary ornamentation to prolong the industrial soulfulness of the original grain silo. This is typical of modern architecture as the intention at the time was to create simplistic buildings under the principle of form following function. A distinctive feature of contemporary architecture is its expressiveness of design and form that is made with the intent to be noticed. For example, the Zeitz Mocca has a paradoxical element portrayed by its integration of a rigid external and an organic centre. Though made from cylindrical tubes, the external geometries are regular and angular while those imside are more curvilinear.
Because the project was a refurbishment of an existing building, the outcome further emphasizes the depth of creativity to transform a previously inhabitable space into a habitable one. Socio-political AnalysisWith respect to the socio-political aspects of South Africa, the Zeitz Mocca Museum has been regarded as a, “call to arms for African Museums”. By virtue of being a museum of contemporary African art, in order to gauge its appropriateness, it is necessary to understand the state of mind of society in relation to the art movement in South Africa during the time of its development. The twentieth century modern movement played a significant role in the establishment of a new kind of Africa. In the same way that modernism sparked a desire for art and life to be experienced out of the normative ways of a then pedantic European society, in Africa, a similar kind of energy was ignited amongst the young and free-willed population. Africa has strongly been and still is identified with the idea of colonisation, however the modern movement allowed for the reawakening of a mindset and a belief that Africans were responsible for creating their own modern culture. This is the mentality that exists in modern day South Africa. Unlike most African countries, South Africa possesses a more liberated stance in terms of progressive thinking. This is evident in the progressiveness of its modern literature, films, music and the visual arts.
In his paper, “Modernity, Modernism, and Africa’s Place in the History of Art of Our Age” Rasheed Araeen discusses the problems associated with African artists trying to identify their voice in a post-colonial Africa. Because of a lack of suitable modern institutions in the early 2000s, most artists travelled abroad to Western communities where they were still acknowledged as “primitives” and had their work undermined if it defied the Eurocentric perception of colonialism. He uses the example of a famous modernist South African artist Ernest Mancoba, who’s work failed to make it into a CoBrA exhibition held at the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam in Holland in the early 2000’s because of his artistic interpretation.
These kinds of circumstances highlight the significance of The Zeitz Mocaa as a contemporary Museum for art from Africa and its diaspora. It signifies a place of artistic liberty-where local artists can freely express their social and political views through art. According to Executive director and chief curator of the Zeitz Mocca, the decision to make the building into a museum as opposed to any other type of building was essential to perpetuate the contemporary art movement not only in South Africa but in Africa as a whole. In a video published by the V&A Waterfront, he says, “Art ignites innovation. The world of art is to open us up to different conversations. To make us aware of things that are different to ourselves. To change our perceptions. To challenge our prejudices”. This is an incredibly relevant but also subjective statement. It is true that art ignites innovation-but the question is whether the innovation is shaped by the way of thinking of an African society or a Western society?
Regardless of it being based in South Africa and for a largely African community- the Zeitz Mocaa Museum is still the manifestation of an external mentality. Because of this, the framework capable of understanding the work of African artists and justifying its sociohistorical significance is compromised. This renders Africans with a lack of social identity and promotes a dependency on seeking Western recognition and legitimisation of what African artists do. Once again, in his previously mentioned paper, Araeen highlights that Africa has become complacent in its dependency syndrome. The West has for many years undermined Africa’s contribution to human civilisation and when it did acknowledge it- it was often marginalised. It is often left to the West to compromise their belief of power when it is in our own interest as Africans to use our creative resources and perpetuate ourselves to a stage of equal recognition. His anchor for this argument is based on the inability to appreciate the visual arts. Once again looking at Ernest Mancoba, he explains that the only way Africa can understand its importance in the mainstream history of modernism is to acknowledge and truly understand the works of artists such as Ernest. To acknowledge how his work and the work of many contemporary artists today challenges the binaries such as Black and White, Modern and Primitive and Oppressor and Oppressed created by colonialism.
This argument does not nullify the museum’s positivity in trying to perpetuate Africa to a level of appreciating the visual arts. It simply highlights itself as an intermediate before a stage when Africa can develop such an institution by itself. In an interview with Archdaily, Matthew Cash addresses the idea that, not only in South Africa but Africa as a whole, there are other greater challenges that require financial attention from a governmental perspective rather than the promotion of cultural systems and therefore the project was funded for by private development as a way to give back to the community. This statement further highlights another commonly disputed concern about the Zeitz Mocca, which is its locality in one of the most affluent precincts of Cape Town. By virtue of its placement, there is an allusion that an institution for the arts is most appropriate in an environment where it can only be appreciated by the wealthy. This contradicts the idea of the Museum being a gift back to the community as the community automatically becomes selective.
As a social space that exhibits art representative of Africans as a whole and their historical struggles, I personally believe it would only be appropriate for the museum to be easily accessible to all. The core problem is not entry into the Museum as some days are set aside for complimentary access, but the lack of availability and affordability of transport is a major problem for people in poorer areas of Cape Town such as Khayelitsha, Maccassar and Langa.
To conclude, looking at the building in retrospect, The Zeitz Mocca Museum, can be regarded as an “a call to arms” for African museums by virtue of being the first institution of its kind. It is considered the first building in Africa to provide a platform for artistic liberation on a monumental scale. Though highlighting the controversies associated with classism and Africa’s dependency syndrome, it has still managed to perpetuate the movement of modern art in South Africa and allow today’s society an appreciation for their contemporary African artists.
