The Quadracci Pavilion by Santiago Calatrava and the Contemporary Arts Center by the Pritzker-winner Zaha Hadid are celebrating their 20th anniversary. Both buildings are the first US projects completed by these legendary architects that have contributed to the stimulation of economic development in Midwestern American cities over the past two decades. In fact, for that reason, Milwaukee's mayor declared September 16 "Santiago Calatrava Day" to commemorate the Pavillion's opening.
The Midwest is a region in the North of the United States that is doing above average economically and demographically, but not yet at the metropolis level, such as New York, Los Angeles, or Houston. Historically, migration towards the South of the country -better known as the Sunbelt Boomtown- was a sign of high productivity and a period of population redistribution in the US. However, the South has experienced slowdowns in its economies and growth rates in the last three decades. In contrast, the Midwestern is strengthening national production and offering the lowest average home prices and better life quality compared to the Sun Belt.
Architecture has been playing a pivotal role in the Midwest's economic spur: Migration and residential mobility have triggered the real estate market; it serves as a destination for art and architecture lovers (The Midwest is home to multiple jewels by Mies Van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright), and is a guide to the revitalization of cities such as Detroit. Urban landmarks in the Midwestern United States such as The Pritzker Pavilion by Frank Gehry in Chicago, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis by Jean Nouvel (also his first completed work in North America), the Des Moines Public Library by David Chipperfield, the Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art / SANA, and the 20th anniversary of Calatrava's and Zaha's buildings are an opportunity to reflect on what buildings mean to cities, communities, and the country at large.
The Quadracci Pavilion and the Contemporary Arts Center also foster emerging talent worldwide. Calatrava's pavilion prompted the creation of the Marcus Prize—which brings emerging talent from around the globe to the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at UW-Milwaukee. For the construction of the CAC in Cincinnati, a unanimous choice emerged. The decision to hire Hadid among the 300 firms, including the finalist Daniel Libeskind, and Bernard Tschumi, was in keeping with the CAC's history of promoting emerging or undiscovered contemporary artists.
Calatrava's day anchors furthermore the role of architecture as the promoter of cultural landmarks that enriches the Museum's holdings and the local community. These projects paved the way for the development of additional Midwest icons, including the new New Milwaukee Public Museum by Ennead Architects and Kahler Slater, the Mulva Cultural Center in Wisconsin by SOM, and the Cold War Veterans Memorial in Wisconsin by Oyler Wu Collaborative selected by an international design competition.
