On the (Im)possibility of Identifying the Evidence Base of the Impact of Star Architecture Projects

Abstract

The scientific investigation of the evidence base regarding the effectiveness of architectural and urban planning interventions requires multidisciplinary research. In the fields of urban policy, urban planning, and urban studies the complexity of the object of research and the divergence of evidence practices between disciplines challenge the process of synthesizing findings generated by different disciplines. This chapter reports on how the multidisciplinary research project titled “Star Architecture and Its Roles in Re-positioning Small and Medium-Sized Cities” addressed the challenge of integrating different disciplinary perspectives into a coherent body of knowledge. As part of this research project, the authors developed an impact model as a tool to organize their multidisciplinary investigation of three case studies of star architecture projects. The model has a threefold purpose: (1) to analytically identify the outputs of star architecture projects, (2) to help assess if and how these outputs can be related to effects in a causal relationship, and (3) to offer a didactic means to debate the evidence of the impact of star architecture projects. Drawing on the case study on the Phaeno in Wolfsburg, this chapter shows how diverging yet complementary the evidence produced by the fields of research of architecture, cultural sociology, and economic geography is.