Home Projects Architecture Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa
ArchitectureProjects

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa

Share
Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa
Share

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa, we architech anonymous in YinChuan, China

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa

The MOCA Yinchuan museum will be the first project developed within this new arts centre, its function will be to knit subsequent communities together enhancing the wellbeing of future local social infrastructure. Its location close to the yellow river which has been coined ‘the cradle of Chinese civilization’ by previous generations has helped protect and provide for early settlers. However frequent flooding over the last millennia has illustrated its destructive capacity and volatile character, this can be observed through satellite imagery which alludes to the rivers ever changing, shifting location depositing huge volumes of sediment and debris in the process in and around the Yinchuan area. The museum will be fundamental to the character and vibrancy of the community one we must run in parallel with the architectural ambition of the scheme.

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa

Millennia has passed since the Yellow river shifted course passing through the site between dynasties of the Han and the Qing leaving the land in its current state as a now protected wetland. A narrative unfolds demanding movement and tension and the museum’s architecture is pinpointed. Focusing on the modern study of geomorphology (an observation of natural land formations), and harnessing the identity and perceived power of the yellow river and its shifting locations we drew inspiration of the architecture by its resulting impact of erosion on the landscape. Sediment and top soil layers formed parallel to the surface over millennia are now removed. A natural occurrence known as “unloading” now goes to work changing the geological landscape pressures released on underlying rock allows shifts upwards the result of which, we can observe as undulations and distortions in the initially parallel sediment layers to become waves over the design of the surface skin of this building.

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa

The Museum’s massing becomes a diagram of these geological forces visible in the sedimentary creases abundant on the facade. Using parametric techniques we were able to visualise these layers and texturise the facade to implant an identity which echoes time through its weathering. If the facades creases speak as documented time through material sedimentation. The gradual shift of the yellow river through our site has spanned the whole length of Chinese civilization which can be seen dwarfed in comparison to the rivers existence. Emulating these natural landform processes frees a language intrinsically linked with ‘Place’ while hinting of this ‘place’ as a time before human history. This Experiment with an abstracted ‘Growth’ of a building has taken the form of accentuating the landscape, creating distinct man made insertions to augment the existing topography and give the museum its identity.

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa

Approaching the Building a large internal atrium occupies the space left over from a notional fracture shifting the building into two pieces. The City entrance is a carved “weathered” facade cavernous stretching the full height of the building within this space a large entrance and circulation atrium contains two large open contempory galleries, with the capacity to exhibit large sculpture and installations on the entire basement level.

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa

Throughout the gallery the visitor experiences differing gallery spaces which will provide a varied experience and provide functional flexibility and a varied palette with which the curatorial team can work, catering for the display of work in an intimate, traditional as well as a large public spectacle capacity. Moving upwards into the building towards two large galleries on level 3 will provide the thematic collection specific content.

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa

The Museum will integrate strong educational functions along with lecture theatre, Library workshop and classrooms located at different levels within the building complex. We hope through this combination of Commerce/Education and Gallery for strong integration of local communities, and to be a physical platform supporting the careers of young established artists along with the creation of a new multinational student body. The visitor descends to an elevated display deck on the second floor before entering the permanent collection room exiting through the landscape entrance and the gallery restaurant. Within the landscaping of the plot which occupies the boundary between a vast swath of Wetland Park and the gallery completes the journey with the visitor in a sculpture park. The route directs towards the artist village compound to the East.

Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) by waa

Architects : waa (we architech anonymous)

Site : YinChuan City, Ning Xia Province, China

Design Team : Zhang Di, Jack Young, Ruben Bergambagt, Huang Yisu

Area : 13188.0 m2

Year : 2015

Photography : NAARO, waa

> Via we architech anonymous 

Share

1 Comment

Leave a Reply

Related Articles
MIT Self-Assembly Lab creates a 4D Knit Dress using advanced 3D knitting techniques
ProjectsDesignFashion

MIT Self-Assembly Lab creates a 4D Knit Dress using advanced 3D knitting techniques

Ministry of Supply collaborated with MIT Self-Assembly Lab to design a 4D...

Jimi Hendrix greatly influenced the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP)
ProjectsArchitecture

Jimi Hendrix greatly influenced the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP)

MoPOP (Museum of Pop Culture) was designed by Frank Gehry and initiated...

Shoupé Tower Rises as a Vertical Neighborhood Inspired by Iran’s Rice-Farming Heritage
Architecture

Shoupé Tower Rises as a Vertical Neighborhood Inspired by Iran’s Rice-Farming Heritage

In the northern regions of Gilan and Mazandaran in Iran, rice farming...

William H. Gary III 30th Street Station Redevelopment
Architecture NewsProjects

William H. Gary III 30th Street Station Redevelopment

As the largest effort to reimagine Philadelphia’s historic station since 1991, this...

Subscribe to all newsletters

Join our community to receive the latest insights and updates!

© 2025 ParametricArchitecture. All Rights Reserved. By utilizing this website, you are consenting to our User Agreement, Privacy Policy, and Cookie Statement. In compliance with the privacy laws of Turkey and the United States, we recognize and respect your rights. Please be aware that we may receive commissions for products bought through our affiliate links. Unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or transmission of any material from this site is strictly forbidden without prior written permission from ParametricArchitecture.

ad blocker mark

AdBlocker Detected!

Help Us Keep Our Content Free

Your support helps us continue delivering high-quality resources at no cost to you.

We’ve detected that you are using an AdBlocker. We completely understand the need for a clean browsing experience, but ads help us keep this platform running and continue providing you with high-quality content at no cost.

If you enjoy our content, please consider disabling your AdBlocker or adding our site to your whitelist. Your support allows us to create more valuable articles, tutorials, and resources for you.

Thank you for being a part of our community!