Further, it revealed and enhanced the sublime and epic spaces of two centuries of production, as the architecture of the former factory has, for many visitors, become as important to the destination experience as the art contained within it. As a corollary to this inspiring example, we will consider a site in proximity to MASS MoCA as the location for a contemporary manufacturing and innovation hub, one that seeks to connect the surrounding urban and rural context to experience the equally sublime spaces that emerging methods of manufacturing require. 

At a time of fraught discourse over the ongoing economic crisis of rural economies, we will investigate and experiment with new models for creating places of production, ones that learn from history in terms of what remains aspirational. In the mid-20C, the factory that now houses MASS MoCA was a fully functioning center for highly innovative manufacturing, but it also housed a local radio station, an orchestra, a vocational school, a research library, a daycare center, a medical clinic, a cooperative grocery store and several sports teams. For our part, we will explore concepts for a 21C Hub, one that allows for the coexistence of many large and small programs, that by their many intersections, create compounding social and personal value for the city’s residents and its visitors.