The Challenge:
The Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MoCAA) is a world-renowned facility, yet a disconnect persisted between the institution and the marginalized communities of Cape Town. Following a two-year COVID-19 closure, the museum needed a way to bring its resources, and its mission, into the streets. The goal: a Mobile Makerspace (ZMmm) to support community-led design and construction using primarily scavenged materials.

The Intervention To build public and institutional support for the ZMmm, the IDC designed an immersive exhibit inside the museum using only humble, undervalued materials. We utilized electrical conduit as a framework and mosquito netting as a radical projection surface. Through extensive experimentation, we found that this common mesh could capture projected images on both sides while remaining transparent enough to create depth, allowing the design to mirror the future makerspace’s goal of using humble materials to create meaningful experiences.

The Impact The installation was parametrically designed to echo the iconic "silo void" architecture of the museum, proving that high-design concepts can be realized with low-cost means. Originally a temporary installation, the work was so successful that its run was extended by several months, solidifying the funding and support needed to build the physical Mobile Makerspace in 2023.