Architects: Heatherwick Studio
Year: 2017
Manufacturers: KEIM, Nuprotec
Photographs: Heatherwick Studio
Products Used in This Project: Mineral Concrete Stain – Concretal®-Lasur by KEIM
Design Director: Thomas Heatherwick
Local Project Architect: Van der Merwe Miszewski Architects (VDMMA), Jacobs Parkers Architects, Rick Brown + Associates
Group Leader: Mat Cash
Project Leader: Stepan Martinovsky
Studio Team: Simona Auteri, Lucie Beauvert, Einar Blixhavn, Erich Breuer, Ruggero Bruno Chialastri, Yao Jen Chuang, James Darling, Francis Field, Alex Flood, Jeronimo Garcia, Sarah Gill, Hayley Henry, Xuanzhi Huang, Changyeob Lee, Julian Liang, Débora Mateo, Hannah Parker, Luke Plumbley, Matthew Pratt, Stefan Ritter, Luke Snow, Ondrej Tichý, Meera Yadave
City: Cape Town
Country: South Africa
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), designed by Heatherwick Studio, opened on 22 September 2017 at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront. As the world’s largest museum for contemporary African art, it spans 9,500 sq. meters across nine floors within the repurposed Grain Silo Complex, disused since 1990. The transformation includes a central atrium, 80 galleries, a rooftop sculpture garden, conservation areas, and specialized Centers for Art Education and Performative Practice. Funded through a R500 million (£30 million) partnership, the museum is a cultural hub in Cape Town’s historic harbor with views of Table Mountain.
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA) was revealed ahead of its public opening on 22 September 2017 at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront. Designed by the renowned London-based Heatherwick Studio, it is set to become the world’s largest museum dedicated to contemporary art from Africa and its diaspora.
The museum occupies 9,500 square meters of custom-designed space across nine floors, meticulously carved from the monumental historic Grain Silo Complex. Once the tallest building in South Africa and disused since 1990, the silo stands as a testament to Cape Town’s industrial past, now revitalized through Heatherwick Studio’s transformative design.
The museum’s galleries and central atrium have been sculpted from the silos’ dense structure of forty-two interconnected tubes. The development features 6,000 square meters of exhibition space spread across 80 galleries, a rooftop sculpture garden, advanced storage and conservation facilities, a bookshop, a restaurant, a bar, and reading rooms. It also includes specialized centers for a Costume Institute, Photography, Curatorial Excellence, the Moving Image, Performative Practice, and Art Education.
The R500 million (£30 million) development of Zeitz MOCAA, announced in November 2013, was established through a partnership between the V&A Waterfront and Jochen Zeitz as a not-for-profit public cultural institution. Located within one of Africa’s most visited cultural and historical hubs, the museum is set along a historic working harbor with the iconic Table Mountain as its backdrop. The V&A Waterfront, offering sweeping views of the ocean, city bowl, and mountain peaks, attracts up to 100,000 visitors daily.
Project Gallery
Project Location
Address: S Arm Road, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town, 8001, South Africa
Location is for general reference and may represent a city or country, not necessarily a precise address.
