A few months ago, we first introduced Farshid Moussavi’s design for the new Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland. This past week, the museum’s board voted to approve the project – a decision that will allow Moussavi and the London office of Foreign Office Architect to jumpstart their first US structure. The new museum, a strong geometric volume dramatically sloping upward, will provide a much needed permanent home for Cleveland’s contemporary art. Moussavi also revealed more details of her design at Hunter College recently, which has developed to include a plaza designed by Field Operations, a cobalt blue inner skin beneath the black stainless steel structure and a ceremonial entry stair.
More about the updated design after the break.
Field Operations’ plaza will include a row of trees that will serve as a divider between the museum’s site and the adjacent development. The plaza’s patterned pavement will compliment the triangular building, and provide a softer transition from the street to the galleries.
New renderings allude to a blue lined interior which will create a strong contrast from the stark walls of the gallery. In the main spaces, the large spans are free of columns and the blue is speckled with white light to resemble the night sky.
The new MOCA is expected to attract 65,000 visitors a year, up from the 20,000 it now attracts. Although the board has not set a date for a groundbreaking, the goal is for a December start.
Sources: Cleveland.com and AN Blog.
