Stemmed from a rapidly expanding worldwide information exchange system and an increasing globalized economic market, the identity of civic architectural expression has changed. Design is no longer an immediate localized entity, but a universal product. With the rise and success of new civic establishments, such as Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum, neighboring cities began plans to emphasize new civic architecture to articulate the city’s role as one of the world´s most advanced cultural destinations.
Using Western Europe’s significant urban network as a point of reference, my research study aims to investigate the idea of 'Civic Iconography' in modern society with work that embodies and utilizes the typology of ‘Urban Performance’. Case studies, both historical and contemporary, are selected from major urban areas with significant influence in the performing arts, which has long identified with civic identity.
Listing 27 case studies from 13 cities, the intention is to investigate performing/event spaces of different scales, contextual settings, and political footing. Each study will be focused on the projects' reflection onto the urban context, with less interest on internal organization. This is done by mapping, facade/material observation, urban diagramming/collages, and historical analysis. I intend to take my findings and method of investigation and inform similar urban environments, such as Boston, home to one of the greatest symphony halls in the world (Boston Symphony).