Erin Bascom

Erin Bascom

MoCA Tucson: Engaging the Wall

The wall has a rich tradition in Arizona, and specifically Tucson. The new MOCA Tucson will engage the wall, the question of the wall and all of its inherent tensions and juxtapositions as a means of pushing boundaries and abandoning the notion of neutral planes.

The new MOCA exists as a Village Behind A Wall. This wall, which folds in and around the site to frame the programmatic needs of MOCA, also folds into the site to allow for non-ticked public amenity. The notion of a wall as a barrier or obstruction crumbles as pockets of public program are interwoven.

Each space is organized to emit different atmospheric conditions which will allow artists and curators to enrich collections. Scenario based design produces an intimacy of scale which invokes textured sun-bathed walls, interior/exterior movement, enclosure and exposure, daily and seasonal change and the cumulative resultant atmosphere as it activates the Wall.