Zeitz MOCAA and The Silo Hotel Transform Cape Town's Grain Silo

Jochen Zeitz, former Puma CEO and collector of contemporary African art, partnered with V&A Waterfront to invest approximately €34 billion in Cape Town's new cultural institution, Zeitz MOCAA. The museum, designed to collect, preserve, and exhibit 21st-century African art, will feature robust educational programming and regular international temporary exhibitions. Rather than new construction, the museum occupies the iconic Grain Silo, a 57-meter mixed-use structure that opened in 1924 as sub-Saharan Africa's tallest building. Closed in August 2001 after nearly 80 years as an export facility and agricultural support depot, the silo now also houses the five-star The Silo Hotel. The overall intervention is by London-based Heatherwick Studio, led by Thomas Heatherwick, who is also working on New York's Vessel and Shanghai's 1000 Trees near the M50 art district. The museum spans 9,500 square meters over nine floors, while the hotel occupies the top six levels with 28 rooms managed by Royal Portfolio, featuring an infinity pool overlooking Table Mountain. The architects aimed to celebrate the industrial heritage rather than erase it, with the main visible modification being glass panels inserted into the existing geometry that bulge outward, transforming the building into a lantern on the port at night. Hotel interiors by Liz Biden showcase works by emerging local artists, aligning with the museum's mission to promote African art.