JAKARTA.- The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN, pronounced Mah-Chahn) today revealed the design for its new 4,000-square-meter (43,000-square-foot) museum, which will open to the public in Jakarta, Indonesia in early 2017. The award-winning London-based firm MET Studio Design Ltd. is leading the creation of Indonesia’s first museum of international modern and contemporary art. Museum MACAN will feature about 2,000 square meters (21,528 square feet) of exhibition galleries, which will include two areas specially reinforced for large-scale commissions of new work. The museum will also have a 500-square-meter (5,382-square-foot) indoor sculpture garden, a designated education zone, A/V room, café/restaurant, and retail store. The design of the new museum will enable Museum MACAN to provide Indonesia and international visitors with a museum made for the 21st century, focused on dynamic and engaged exhibitions, commissions of new artwork, and a wide variety of education and public programs.

The design and construction of the museum is fully funded by Indonesian philanthropist and leading collector Haryanto Adikoesoemo, who has appointed Dr. Thomas J. Berghuis as the museum’s director. Together they are working with MET Studio on integrating the vision, mission, and strategies for the future museum into the building’s design. Museum MACAN will be situated in a multipurpose landmark building designed by the Jakarta-based architectural firm ARKdesign in the up-and-coming Kebon Jeruk neighborhood of West Jakarta. The museum will be a prominent feature of the Gallery West complex, which will encompass a newly built office tower, residential tower, hotel, restaurants, cafes, a ballroom, and a showroom, and will be easily accessible from the toll road leading from the international airport into the city. The exterior of Museum MACAN extends out from the 5th floor of the building, featuring a glass façade through which the sculpture garden will be visible from the outside.

“For more than a decade I have dreamed of creating a museum for the people of Indonesia, and for our visitors and friends from overseas,” said Haryanto Adikoesoemo. “I am confident that together with MET Studio we are developing the ideal space for people of all ages to enjoy, engage with, and learn about the true value of modern and contemporary art for our lives and our society.”

Known for their experiential approach, and for creating immersive and interactive environments for museums to truly connect with their audiences, MET Studio’s design for the interior of Museum MACAN responds to the environment of Jakarta and Indonesia, creating an engaging, open experience. MET Studio Design Chairman, Alex McCuaig, explains how “when we first arrived in Jakarta, we immediately noticed that creativity resides everywhere in the city, and we decided then and there that the museum should reflect the public space.”

Upon arrival to Museum MACAN the visitor will encounter an open public atrium, marked by a café/restaurant with views towards the museum’s ticketed entrance, the indoor sculpture garden, and a panorama over Jakarta’s skyline — all of which serve to promptly transport the visitor from the city’s streets and into the museum. The entrance will be marked by a gateway arch that wraps across the space, featuring a backlit sign reading ‘MACAN’ in large bold lettering.

The theme of a wrapped structure is interwoven into many aspects of the design – including the gallery walls of the museum, which flow seamlessly from the concrete floor up to the ceiling. The wraps connect MET Studio’s vision for a free-flowing museum experience to MACAN’s mission to unfold and reveal artwork and ideas to the visitor. A single wrapped table will be the signature feature of the museum’s café/restaurant, resulting in a reveal in the floor that serves as an opportunity for artist commissions. Two massive plinths in the sculpture garden also make use of the wrap design, and make it appear as though the floor is peeling open to reveal the sculptures on top of the surface.

From the café/restaurant and public area, visitors move towards the reception desk and through a waist-high glass-partition entrance into the first gallery. This area will have a strong focus on education, and will be changeable to suit various programmatic initiatives, including large-scale commissioned artworks and special exhibits. In this orientation space visitors will find custom-built interactive education units and media screens that are designed to further engage them directly with the space, contents, and context of the museum. One of this gallery’s most prominent features will be a collaborative digital “art totem” with programmable screens wrapped around its center column. The “art totem” can offer visitors the opportunity to create and upload their creative designs to be displayed in situ, and viewed by others. To the side of the entrance will also be a small A/V room, providing information on the museum, its exhibitions, and programming.

While art will be integrated into practically all available spaces in Museum MACAN, feature exhibitions will be programmed according to two main sections. The first section uses an open-plan design, featuring high ceilings and measuring 1,175 square meters (12,648 square feet), and will allow for rotating exhibitions focused predominantly on contemporary art, and special project exhibitions. The second section, towards the back of the museum and measuring 745 square meters (8,019 square feet), will be a more immersive space that is somewhat more intimate in its design. In the future, this area could host more art historical exhibitions focused on painting and sculpture, and key works of 20th century modern art. Four floor-to-ceiling arch windows measuring 20 cm in width will be integrated into the gallery walls, providing views of Jakarta without allowing light to penetrate the interior.

“MET Studio’s design will enable Museum MACAN to realize its function as an enduring artistic and educational space for all people,” said Director Thomas Berghuis. “It has been, and continues to be, an incredible experience working so closely with the design team from MET Studio, who clearly understand curatorial thought processes, and think visually about the way that art and culture can connect to our daily lives. It is an exciting and productive process to work together with designers that not only build museums, but develop experiential spaces for people to connect to and engage deeply with art.”

MET Studio creatively utilizes all available space in the museum to maximize curatorial practices. In between the elevator shafts servicing the main office building above the museum are two enclosed and one open corridor spaces that can be used in a variety of ways, including for special commissioned installations, more intimate displays, video art, or as performance spaces. Two special areas — one at the entrance, and one at the back of the first main section — have been reinforced to accommodate especially heavy artworks, for artists to work in large-scale sculptural and installation mediums.

“We are honored to have been chosen to design this landmark institution for Jakarta and Indonesia,” said MET Studio Design Chairman, Alex McCuaig. “Our design for Museum MACAN reflects the museum’s philosophy that art is an integral part of life, as well as the institution’s commitment to their visitor’s experience and development. This project has also been unique due to our close collaboration with MACAN’s Director and Chief Curator, which has helped us to create a museum that truly responds to its environment and community.”