Summary: The Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), designed by Maya Lin, recently opened a new New York City location that links Chinatown and SoHo, the city’s art district. MOCA will present the history and culture of people of Chinese descent in the United States. The architect was Bialosky + Partners, and the permanent gallery was designed by Maya Lin Studio with Matter Architecture Practice. The $3.25 million project is expected to achieve LEED Silver certification.

Exterior view of the Museum of Chinese in America. Photo courtesy of Maya Lin Studio/ Museum of Chinese in America.

MOCA’s 14,000 square-foot space is in a former machine shop. The street façade is composed of wood, concrete, and bronze. One large window has a projection of an archival film of Chinatown, with a historic Chinatown store beyond

The space has been renovated for exhibition galleries, interactive display kiosks, a multipurpose classroom, a research center, and public programs.

The sky-lit courtyard. Photo courtesy of Maya Lin Studio/ Museum of Chinese in America.

Design presents the Chinese American story
The museum’s core exhibition presents an overview of Chinese in the United States from the 19th century to the present. The exhibition is tied together by three main threads: the relationship between China and the United States and its impact on Chinese Americans; how Chinese Americans have perceived themselves in American society (and have been perceived) over time; and, the impact of Chinese Americans on politics, culture, and life in the United States. Historian John Kuo Wei Tchen and Cynthia Ai-fen Lee were the co-curators.

The core exhibition revolves around an historic sky-lit courtyard, which Lin has left raw and untouched as a reminder of the past and to evoke a Chinese courtyard house. Every year a prominent Chinese American artist will be invited to install a work in the courtyard. Biographic films tell stories of Chinese Americans through history-- from the 1850s to the present day—projected onto glass windows facing the courtyard.

View of the lobby and Journey Wall, designed by Maya Lin. Photo courtesy of Maya Lin Studio/ Museum of Chinese in America.

Inside the main entrance is the Journey Wall featuring individual bronze plaques donated in honor or in memory of people of Chinese descent. Each tile is engraved with the name of a Chinese American family, highlighting both their Chinese place of origin as well as their current home in the United States.

“From its community-based roots, MOCA’s new home marks its emergence as a national institution,” says Jonathan Ligh, M.D., chair of MOCA’s Board of Trustees. “Our institutional capacity will increase six-fold and allow us to house a range of exhibitions and programs to facilitate a deeper and broader dialogue about Chinese American history, identity, and culture.”

The Core Exhibit Hall. Photo courtesy of Maya Lin Studio/ Museum of Chinese in America.

“The Museum of Chinese in America was established nearly 30 years ago by two Chinese Americans, co-founders Charles Lai and John Kuo Wei Tchen, who knew it was important to document and preserve the history of our Chinese American heritage and experience,” says museum director S. Alice Mong. “Our new location will allow the museum to look at that experience through many different lenses and bring 160 years of our history to vivid life through innovative art and history exhibitions, films, panels, and educational and cultural programs.”

Detail of bronze tiles on the Journey Wall, designed by Maya Lin. Photo courtesy of Maya Lin Studio/ Museum of Chinese in America.

“MOCA’s new space focuses attention on individuals and families of Chinese heritage who have made their homes throughout the country, and who are very much a part of the fabric of this nation,” says Lin. “The space was designed to show the dynamic presentation of the Chinese American story, as an integral part of the greater, and continually evolving, American story.”