INDOOR GARDEN FOR PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
10 Oct 2017
The newly redesigned Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago has thrown open its doors to the public to showcase a new multi-user engagement space that features a hanging indoor garden oasis.
Redesigned by LA-based architects Johnston Marklee, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA) opened its doors officially to the public last month during the Chicago Architectural Biennial 2017. The renovation features a multi-user engagement space designed by Mexican architecture and design studio Pedro y Juana. 
Called The Commons, this dynamic and flexible space at the heart of the museum offers an area for gathering, learning and engagement that responds to what’s sharpening in the world today. 
“Our design will create a learning environment that opens up new possibilities to engage and think about the fundamental social, political, and critical framework of art,” comments Pedro + Juana. “We are working on translating these ideas into a social typology of a third space, a place that you frequent outside of home or work. We imagine The Commons as an egalitarian space in constant motion that is flexible and creates a sensation where all kinds of things—even those that are unexpected—can and will happen at all times.” 
Introducing warmth and colour, the Mexican duo has created a geometric hanging-indoor garden oasis for The Commons engagement space. Including a total of 221 plant lamps, the installation recalls Mexican paper cut-out art through their form while adding greenery to the space. Overall, the space aims to allow for experimentation and risk-taking, fostering a greater sense of empathy, openness, curiosity, and citizenship. 
Via Designboom © Images
