Properties Magazine November 2012 : Page 14
Future Form Cleveland’s Museum of Contemporary Art aims ahead with striking, new facility By Lou Kren | Photos by Dean Kaufman leveland’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), on a triangular parcel at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and Mayfield Road in University Circle, is not just a repository of artwork. The new structure itself makes an artistic statement, inside and out. C The four-story 36,098-square-foot building, 44% larger than MOCA’s former space, rises 60 feet from a hex-agonal base to a square top, and is anticipated to achieve LEED Silver cer-tification. With primarily mirror-finish, black Rimex stainless-steel cladding, the façade changes in appearance according to the weather and exterior light condi-tions. Three of the building’s eight major geometric facets – all eight sloping at various angles including one facet of transparent glass – flank a public plaza that links MOCA to attractions such as the Cleveland Institute of Art as well as new commercial space and residential units. (Though the building base is a hexagon, the north and south ends each consist of a trio of triangles while the 14 east and west consisting of trapezoids. So technically, the building has a total of eight facets at the base.) MOCA owns the portion of the plaza on which the building sits, with Case Western Reserve University owning the balance. As one of the few contemporary art museums in the country that functions as a non-collecting institution, MOCA has no need to accommodate collection galleries. Given that, the building’s inte-rior maintains flexibility for a variety of functions and display opportunities. Visitors enter to an atrium that reveals the shape and structure of the building itself, with colors designating structural components. The entry level also con-tains MOCA’s lobby, café and store, as well as a double-height, multi-purpose room for public programs and events. Via an overhead door, the multi-purpose room can be separated from the lobby. From there, visitors may take the mon-umental staircase, a dominant interior architectural feature, to the upper floors. The top floor holds a 6,000-square-foot gallery space with no fixed dividing walls, only temporary walls that allow for a variety of configurations. This floor also contains a gallery designed for new media work as well as the Dick and Doreen Cahoon Lounge, which overlooks the plaza and new Uptown developments in the neighborhood. The third floor, home to MOCA’s administrative offices, includes spaces for classes, lectures and other educational programs, while the second floor houses exhibition workshops 3URSHUWLHV | November 2012
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