Architectural historian and curator Béatrice Grenier is challenging conventional definitions of museums through her new book, "Architecture for Culture: Rethinking Museums," which argues that these institutions must be understood as dynamic spaces shaped by urban environments, public needs, and specific cultural missions rather than as static typologies. Her thesis centers on architecture's unique power to define intellectual and social spaces within cities, particularly relevant as digital technologies force cultural institutions to reconsider their physical relevance. The publication uses the newly reopened Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain in Paris as a primary case study, where Jean Nouvel transformed a historic Haussmannian building on Rue de Rivoli into a flexible, transparent cultural venue that radically reimagines the relationship between historic fabric and contemporary function.
The impetus for Grenier's research crystallized during her visit to the China National Archives of Publication and Culture in Hangzhou, designed by Wang Shu of Amateur Architecture Studio. This hybrid institution merges library and museum functions, reflecting China's unique cultural tradition where painting, poetry, and writing are deeply intertwined. Wang Shu based the building's design on a Song dynasty landscape painting by Li Cheng, effectively transforming a two-dimensional artwork into a three-dimensional spatial experience. This approach demonstrates how architecture can participate in historical continuum rather than merely housing artifacts. Grenier recognized this as a paradigm shift where the building itself becomes part of the curatorial narrative, blurring boundaries between art forms and institutional categories.
Grenier's concept of the museum as landscape represents a radical reimagining of institutional boundaries. She traces this evolution from Frederick Law Olmsted's Central Park, which she argues is as deliberately designed as any vertical structure, to Jean Nouvel's original Fondation Cartier on Boulevard Raspail, where glass walls dissolved the separation between gallery and garden. The most extreme manifestation is Junya Ishigami's kilometer-long Zaishui Museum of Art in Rizhao, China, where visitors experience art through walking the landscape itself. In these examples, nature becomes both artifact and exhibition space, challenging traditional definitions of what constitutes a museum collection and expanding the notion of what deserves preservation.
The notion of the "in-between" emerged unexpectedly from Grenier's research, focusing on urban conditions rather than architectural forms. She examines Creek Road in Stone Town, Zanzibar, where colonial heritage buildings on one side receive UNESCO protection while post-independence modernist housing on the other remains neglected. This street becomes a democratic space where competing histories confront each other openly. Grenier suggests such urban arteries function as open-air museums that question which narratives deserve preservation. This approach democratizes museology by moving it into public thoroughfares where everyday citizens encounter historical tensions without predetermined curatorial filters.
Looking toward the future, Grenier remains cautiously optimistic about museums' continued relevance in an increasingly digital world, warning against institutions becoming tools for political image-making or city branding exercises. She advocates for museums that serve as genuine learning spaces free from ideological agendas, where diverse publics can encounter art and ideas without predetermined outcomes. The book concludes that architecture's role in cultural policy will only grow more critical as urbanization encompasses the entire planet. Architects must therefore embrace their responsibility as public intellectuals who shape not just buildings but the very conditions of cultural engagement for future generations.
