Peter Eisenman's Cidade da Cultura Buzzes Back to Life

Author: Maria Sieira (architect; formerly Eisenman Architects)
Year: 2019
Source type: article
Raw file: raw/articles/sieira-2019-cidade-da-cultura-buzzes-back-to-life.md

Summary

Sieira reports on the lived afterlife of Peter Eisenman's Cidade da Cultura in Santiago de Compostela, contrasting its earlier "left for dead" state with its present use. Twenty years on, two of its buildings remain unbuilt ("caries" — cavities where the missing teeth should be), yet the project is "no longer empty": cafés buzz with government administrators and entrepreneurs, outdoor performances animate the roof-amphitheater between April and September, and the former Hemeroteca has become the "Centro de Emprendimiento" (a business incubator). Director Ana Isabel Vázquez Reboredo aims to make Cidade "a resource for the entire region of Galicia."

Key Claims

• A near-death and revival: the project "was left for dead after failing to meet promises to be 'the Bilbao of Galicia,' an iconic building that would bring both cultural and economic success"; in 2015 a newspaper declared "not even the Apostle can save it." Construction was halted, "leaving behind four largely empty buildings and two 'caries'."
• Everyday reuse: "Cidade is no longer empty and things are looking up"; cafés scene as "the most reliable measure of civic life"; outdoor events on the ramped roof-amphitheater; the Hemeroteca is now a business incubator ("Centro de Emprendimiento").
• Eisenman's view: "The idea of the project was always to offer a framework for new cultural ideas that are constantly emerging" — he was "excited to see the spaces in his project utilized in new ways."
• Regional ambitions: the director wants Cidade "to be a resource for the entire region of Galicia, not just the city of Santiago de Compostela"; a new highway entrance makes it more accessible (15 minutes from the airport, 1h from Madrid).
• Questions: "Is the project benefiting the people already living in Santiago? Can the region of Galicia feel ownership of this project ... even though it's tied so closely, in both location and design, to one city?"

Connections

Concepts: Star Architecture · Iconic Architecture · Everyday Architecture
Authors: Maria Sieira · Peter Eisenman
Debates: Spectacle vs. Function
Related source notes: Compostela's City of Culture to Be Left Unfinished (Reinero) · Coda to a Career (Hawthorne)

Direct Quotes

"Cidade is no longer empty and things are looking up."

"[T]he project was left for dead after failing to meet promises to be 'the Bilbao of Galicia,' an iconic building that would bring both cultural and economic success."

"The idea of the project was always to offer a framework for new cultural ideas that are constantly emerging." (Eisenman, as quoted)

Open Questions

• Does the Cidade da Cultura's "buzz" represent a genuine redemption of the icon (function over spectacle), or an adaptive, privatized reuse (business incubator) that belies its "cultural city" promise and its regional ownership claims?