New Cultural Capitals

2012-2013

Rendering of the proposed Los Angeles State Historic Park, by Hargreaves Associates.

Courtesy of Hargreaves Associates and California State Parks

In the summer of 2012, the National Building Museum will launch an online exhibition titled New Cultural Capitals to provoke dialogue and debate about the role of architecture and cultural infrastructure in creating vital communities.

With the advent of the current recession, many architectural critics and other observers declared the end of an era of ambitious new cultural facilities designed by high-profile architects, and yet we continue to see cultural infrastructure being used as a cornerstone of economic development in communities both large and small in the U.S. and around the world. New Cultural Capitals will examine this continuing trend and investigate the further potential of cultural investment as a long-term community development strategy.

The online exhibition will convey the following key points:

• Architecture and public space are important components and instruments of culture.
• Innovative architecture and cultural facilities can be highly effective catalysts for economic and social development.
• Cultural development is possible in, and can bring substantial benefits to, communities of all sizes, locations, and types.

Biblioteca España Library Park, Medellín, Colombia, by Giancarlo Mazzanti Arquitectos.

Courtesy of Giancarlo Mazzanti Arquitectos

The online exhibition will present a series of ambitious initiatives from around the world that are characterized by bold architecture, vital public spaces, and innovative programming.  It will analyze different models of cultural infrastructure including:

• Community Anchors: large-scale developments such as Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi and the Brooklyn Academy of Music district in New York, in which cultural facilities serve as key civic nodes;
• Cultural Enclaves: centralized, multi-institution districts including the Dallas Performing Arts District and the Los Angeles State Historic Park;
• Cultural Networks: involving multiple cultural facilities that are not physically adjacent but are connected programmatically, such as the Indianapolis Cultural Trail in Indiana and the system of Library Parks in Medellín, Colombia; and
• The European Capitals of Culture:  a government-led initiative that has become a mainstay of economic development in the European Community.

Rendering of the proposed Brooklyn Arts Tower, by studioMDA/Behnisch Architekten.

Courtesy of studioMDA

In addition, the Museum will commission four innovative design teams to create hypothetical projects to explore possible cultural initiatives in American cities and towns.  It will also create a forum for discussion and will ask cultural leaders, policymakers, and citizens to consider what strategies might leverage cultural development opportunities in American communities.

The Museum will engage partner organizations to provide complementary programming, resources, or research, or participate in discussion on these issues.  These might include design and planning associations, such as The American Institute of Architects, the American Society of Landscape Architects, and the American Planning Association, and organizations including the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture, Americans for the Arts, the Ford Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the U.S. Conference of Mayors. 

The Museum received funding for New Cultural Capitals from the National Endowment for the Arts.