Compostela's City of Culture to Be Left Unfinished

Author: David Reinero (El País)
Year: 2013
Source type: article (news)
Raw file: raw/articles/reinero-2013-compostela-city-of-culture-unfinished.md

Summary

A news report that the Galician regional government "definitively" halted work on the City of Culture (Cidade da Cultura) in Santiago de Compostela after twelve years and ~287 million euros, settling for four of the planned six buildings (the theater and international arts center will not be built). Launched in 2001-2002 by Manuel Fraga (who, "not to be outdone by Bilbao," brought in Peter Eisenman), budgeted initially at 108 million, its flagship status was undermined by high running costs and low attendance (330,000 visits/year vs. the Guggenheim's 1 million+), though the government defended it as "a question of prestige."

Key Claims

• Halted prestige project: after 12 years and 287M euros, the government "decided to end work on its controversial City of Culture," completing four of six buildings; the theater and international arts center "will not now be completed."
• Born of the Bilbao effect: "Not to be outdone by Bilbao, which had hired Frank Gehry to build the Guggenheim ... Fraga, a minister in Franco's regime, brought in US architect Peter Eisenman." The cost, budgeted at 108M, soon soared.
• Under-use and running costs: maintenance, security, and utilities cost ~4M euros a year; staging events ~4.5M more. A stone-history exhibition cost over 1M and brought in just 50,000 euros in six months. Last year, 330,000 people visited vs. 1 million+ at the Guggenheim Bilbao.
• Prestige defense: "The regional government nevertheless defends the cost of the complex, saying that it is a question of prestige and projecting an image of Galicia internationally."

Connections

Concepts: Star Architecture · Iconic Architecture · Neoliberal Metropolis
Authors: David Reinero · Peter Eisenman · Frank Gehry
Debates: Spectacle vs. Function
Related source notes: Spain Halts Eisenman's City of Culture (Archiweb) · Coda to a Career (Hawthorne)

Direct Quotes

"Not to be outdone by Bilbao, which had hired Frank Gehry to build the Guggenheim ... Fraga ... brought in US architect Peter Eisenman."

"The regional government nevertheless defends the cost of the complex, saying that it is a question of prestige and projecting an image of Galicia internationally."

"For the moment, Galicia's flagship cultural project is little more than four large empty buildings and two big holes in the ground."

Open Questions

• Does the Cidade da Cultura's "prestige" justification — an unfinished complex with costly running costs and low use — exemplify the icon-as-capital (Bilbao effect) model's failure, or its continuance regardless of use?
• Cost discrepancy: this source puts the original budget at 108M, whereas Archiweb (2013) reports ~158M and Tremlett (2011) reports "four times its original plan (~€400m)". Noted, not reconciled.