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Iconic Buildings
The public bodies involved in the build up to Capital of Culture in 2008 are struggling to develop a new project to replace the failed Cloud project. Their problems may stem from their approach - there is an overwhelming desire to create an architectural icon that the city will be proud of, that tourists will flock to see and that will last beyond 2008. A simple lesson has failed to be learned - that the modern iconic building rarely works. As happened in 1920s Weimar Germany with the introduction of the Bauhaus Movement, function is becoming fashionable again.
The Cloud project was certainly iconic, and it was this that led to its downfall. The icon is unfashionable - too many modern iconic buildings fail to live up to their expectations and are considered outdated in less than a decade. The functions a building will serve should be considered first, and in the case of the Cloud, attention was solely on its outward appearance. Who would this benefit exactly? Is a hugely expensive ‘crystal knuckleduster’ (aptly named by The Times reporter Tom Dyckhoff, 24th August 2004) the way to inspire the ordinary Liverpudlian? Liverpool already has its iconic architecture. What is needed now is something that will redefine the city as progressive and dynamic whilst engaging the ordinary citizen.
Perhaps Liverpool could learn a lesson from the experiences of the Capital of Culture for 2004, the city of Lille in France. Ordinary Lille citizens were asked what they wanted their Capital of Culture money to be spent on. When did Liverpool’s Culture Company last ask you what you wanted for Liverpool? In Lille, this led to the creation of Les Maison Folies - twelve regenerated buildings in the outskirts of the city, outwardly unspectacular in most cases but functioning as popular, sustainable community arts centres. They are aimed at the ordinary citizen and serve to incorporate art into their everyday lives. It is these buildings that will last beyond 2004 for Lille, as it is these that the ordinary people can engage with and enjoy.
Les Maisons Folies are diverse in their functions incorporating music, dance and art, beer festivals, television and recording studios. The Hospice d’Harve in Tourcoing centres around literature - public readings and workshops; imagery - photography and a comic strip gallery; heritage; drama; music; gardening. Can any one building in Liverpool boast such a range of activities? Lille can boast twelve.
Community art also serves social functions. Studies into how art can benefit urban regeneration show that engaging ordinary people, particularly young people, in art projects has a positive effect on anti-social behaviour. For example, the Youth Works project in Blackburn that organised art projects on high crime estates in the area was successful in reducing juvenile crime by 35%. Active participation in art encourages creative thought, engagement with the environment and ultimately inculcates pride in a much deeper sense than any iconic building could do and at a fraction of the cost.
The new plans for the Fourth Grace site - a museum of Liverpool life - may attract the ordinary Liverpudlian but only briefly and in a passive way. Once again, in response to a setback, Liverpool falls back on its history. The iconic buildings have failed - perhaps the response should be to take a step back from the stampede towards 2008 and adapt a much simpler and more practical approach - what does the ordinary Liverpool citizen want and what will last beyond 2008?
