Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, by Zaha Hadid

Cincinnati's Contemporary Arts Center is the first built project in the United States by celebrated London-based architect Zaha Hadid. More than another example of the "Bilbao Effect" - the "build it and they will come" attitude that so many cities have taken on after the success of Gehry's building in Bilbao - the CAC is simply the latest building in a long line of projects that the city of Cincinnati has taken on over the last ten years, including works by Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry and Michael Graves.

Unlike other recent works to receive such press in Cincinnati, the CAC is the first major project to go up in the city's somewhat declining downtown. In response to the metropolitan setting of the building, Hadid developed the concept of the "urban carpet", to draw in pedestrian traffic inherent to a downtown area. The "urban carpet" is articulated by a seamless run of concrete that begins outside the building, continues into the mezzanine level and eventually curves upward at the far end of the building behind the stairs. Though in theory this concept seems admirable it's not very visible. In fact, if it were not for fact that the concept was highly publicized in the Cincinnati area during the design process, it would be missed by many if not all visitors.

The building came with a $27.5 million tag, something that is apparent when one notices that every room, gallery and passageway in the building has a name attached to it.