Museum Side of the City – From the Theory to Inquiry

Abstract

The cultural value of a city is also given by the quality of its architecture, the philosophies and trends it represents, the history witnessed by its edification, but is also linked with the sighting and identification of spaces similar to themselves, whether authentic or become symbolic. This article proposes the debate / investigation of the idea of (architecture) museum side of the city, of its presence in the public space as visual and cultural interaction of the buildings, what these convey to the community, and the way they define the built environment. The debate is dedicated to architecture itself as presence, sum of objects which are “exposed’ in the “art gallery” the city space might represent; it does not call into question the construction or the existence of an architecture museum in itself, but rather the importance of cataloguing and labeling the city's architectural objects, zones, connections, exposure and visibility, culture and contribution to the visual quality of the space, whether it is about buildings of heritage and architectural value or newly built buildings. The investigation refers to the identification of some elements that could define the “architecture museum of the city” or as finality “museum side of the city” and a multi-criteria analysis which might lead to conclusions and directions for future research - perhaps an innovative approach for the valorization and promotion of both the architecture as object as well as in urban collections.