Urban centres
A survey by Davide Paganotti

It's not easy to say exactly what an urban centre is: an exhibition space, a library, a meeting room, a cultural association, a promotional space, a service centre for the definition of development initiatives, an arena to discuss development problems, etc.
Actually, the urban centres that I found on the World Wide Web are this and more. However, they have one common characteristic: to be the contact place of the city. A communication of the city, mostly from an urban planning and architectural perspective, but also from an artistic perspective (some of these urban centres are in art museums), that refers to the largest portion of the population possible to inform, to educate, to capture the attention and interest of the public; a way to explain to citizens the problems of the city and of the region and to encourage them to become dynamic actors and to thereby entice them to take part in the construction process of the choices related to the city's development. It is a place, which requires a physicalness to guarantee and allow a major part of the activities and services that it develops and offers (library and archive services, bookshops) to promote rapport between citizens, institutions, associations, actors, etc., but which finds in the Internet a parallel and (or, sometimes, alternative) place for some of these services (shows, promotions, exhibits, information, etc.).

The selection starts with European examples, than web sites from United States and Italy (where the author lives).
 
Europe




http://www.arcam.nl

ARCAM Architectuurcentrum amsterdam,
Amsterdam

Since 1986, the ARCAM foundation endeavours to draw attention to Amsterdam's architecture and development issues to the public at large in order to make these themes part of daily life and discussion. The foundation serves as an information point for the public, where architecture aficionados can be directed to note worthy constructions and sites in the city. In addition, it functions as co-ordination centre and works together with a large number of institutions in order to initiate new activities and to support and manage existing programmes.

 
http://www.azw.at/startpage.php

AZW Architekturzentrum Wien ,
Wien

The Az W is not a typical museum. It is a living exhibition space with presentations, discussions and information on architecture held for the public at large in order to give to architecture more exposure.
The Az W offers a flexible professional service for everybody interested in architecture: archives, in-house collection, public architecture library and Architektur Archiv Austria.

. .
 



http://www.cube.org.uk/

Cube,
Manchester
CUBE is an architecture and design centre, dedicated to broadcasting the ideas and issues that lie behind the buildings, spaces and environments that make up the built environment. CUBE is committed to the investigation, discussion and advancement of design quality within the built environment. From the outset, CUBE has focused on the importance of creative activity within urban design disciplines.



http://www.thelighthouse.co.uk

The Lighthouse,
Glasgow

The Lighthouse, Scotland's first, dedicated, national centre for architecture and design, was opened in July 1999. The centre's vision is to develop the links between art, design and architecture, seeing these as interconnected social, educational, economic and cultural issues of concern to everyone. It also contains a Charles Rennie Mackintosh interpretation centre and a dedicated education floor, including workshop, computer laboratory, gallery space and mini 'Wee People's City'.
The Lighthouse is operated as a charitable trust, its income coming from a combination of public and private funds.


http://www.macba.es

MACBA Museu d'Art
Contemporani de Barcelona,
Barcelona
The MACBA website seeks to satisfy institutional communication needs hosting on the website the MACBA’s exhibit programmes, activities and offering access to the collections with the aim of generating interest on the activities of the museum whether it be in the “material” or “virtual” dimension.




http://www.nai.nl/e/index.html

NAI The Netherlands Architecture Institute, Rotterdam

The Netherlands Architecture Institute (NAI) is more than a museum of architecture. It is a above all a cultural institute which is open to the public, which uses a variety of methods for communicating information about architecture, urban design and spatial planning. Moreover it houses significant archives and collections that are accessible to the public.

  

http://www.pavillon-arsenal.com/us/index.html

Le Pavillon de l’Arsenal,
Paris

Founded in 1988, “Le Pavillon de l’Arsenal” is a centre with information, documentation and exhibits on urban planning and architecture in Paris. It is a unique place open to the public who is interested in architecture and city planning. There are permanent and temporary exhibits, as well as displays with the results of architectural competitions. The centre also has a documentation centre complete with a video archive, phototèque, and areas for conferences and debates. Le Pavillon de l'Arsenal aims to help the public understand the evolution of Paris and its projects.



USA

http://www.architecture.org

Chicago Architecture Foundation,
Chicago

The Chicago Architecture Foundation is dedicated to advancing public interest and education in architecture and related design. The ArchiCenter (the seat of CAF) offers changing exhibits, lectures, classes and a museum shop. It also has permanent exhibits in CitySpace, including a scale model of the downtown area, video interviews with famous architects, and interactive virtual tours at three kiosks.

http://www.mas.org/home.cfm

MAS The Municipal Art Society of New York,
New York City
The MAS of New York is a private, non-profit membership organization that aggressively champions excellence in urban design and planning and the preservation of the best of New York's past. It’s a place for the “advertisement” and the debate about urban development issues.


http://www.picced.org/NewDesign/index.html

PICCED The Pratt Institute Center for Community and Environmental Development,
Brooklyn, New York City

The PICCED has been serving the community for over thirty years. It aims to educate and to sensitise low-income groups to urban issues with the help of planners, architects, etc. Their mission is to engage people in developing innovative solutions to improve their own living conditions and to combat poverty.

http://www.spur.org

SPUR | The San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association,
San Francisco
The San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR) is San Francisco's pre-eminent public-policy think tank. Through research, analysis, public education, and advocacy, SPUR promotes good planning and good government. It brings together neighbourhood leaders, government officials, business leaders, planners, architects, students, and activists, the full range of people who care about San Francisco, to debate, learn, and plan for the needs of the city as a whole.




Italy

http://www.ambientetrentino.it/urban/index.html

Ambientetrentino,
Trentino

The Ambientetrentino urban centre was born as an independent editorial initiative on the Internet to disseminate a culture of participatory and sustainable projects, to gather and organize information about the main issues in provincial development.

http://www.atriumtorino.it/

Atrium Torino,
Torino
Two large pavilions find a natural home in the spacious and centrally located Piazza Solferino, intended to communicate not only the profound transformations of a city and of a province, but also to interact with its visitors, as a construction site of images and ideas, that with time will be enriched with new stimuli. This is Atrium Torino, a project designed by Giugiaro Architettura and carried out by the City of Torino in collaboration with the Provinces of Torino and Toroc. The objective of the project is to present both the events leading up to the 20th Olympic Winter Games (2006) in Torino, and to illustrate the changes in the city and the region, which owing to their large temporal and spatial dimensions go further that the prestigious sporting event.

http://194.243.104.176/website/ctu/

Carta delle Trasformazioni Urbane,
Venezia

The "Charter of Urban Transformations" is a communication channel for the conflicts, which arise in the city relative to on-going projects of particular relevance and complexity due to the number of parties involved, the importance of the areas and the multiple sources of financing. The objectives of the "Charter of Urban Transformations" include on the one hand gathering and providing updates on the advancement of large urban projects and, on the other, ensuring that the information it contains is accessible and that it is disseminated to promote participation and public debate on the issues of strategic planning.

http://www.esposizionebologna.org

eBo,
Bologna

eBo was created to present projects related to urban redevelopment, infrastructure development, and rehabilitation of historical and architectural built heritage. In this pavilion, present and future projects for the city, become a multimedia journey complete with plans, photos, plastic models, films and 3-D animations. eBo is an exhibit in constant evolution that parallels the city’s development with thematic exhibits, events and educational activities to inform citizens and visitors about urban transformation and projects in progress.

http://www.comune.napoli.it/urbana/html/casacittà/intro_cdc.htm

La Casa della Città ,
Napoli

“Casa della città” is a documentation centre created by Napoli’s Planning Department, whose purpose is to acquaint the public with urban policy, as well as to promote discussion on the matter. The centre is complete with exhibition space, meeting rooms, offices, archives and workshops. It maintains a permanent exhibition on urban transformation and organizes meetings and demonstrations.

http://www.comune.milano.it/urban_center/index.html

Milano – Urban Center,
Milano

Milan - Urban Center is intend for an Italian and International public (economic actors in this sector and not, students, citizens, tourists and general public). The Center disseminates information about the city’s territorial structure, its development potential and its historical and architectural built heritage.
It is the node for debates and research on urban development projects with a multidisciplinary approach, from architecture to sociology, from economy to environmental sciences. It houses thematic exhibits, organizes workshop and seminars, events and educational activities, promotes meetings to acquaint oneself with the city and its history, territorial policies as well as present and future projects of the city of Milano.

http://www.oct.torino.it

Officina Città Torino,
Torino
The Officina Città Torino is intended as a laboratory to familiarise oneself with the City of Turin and its architecture. A place for of encounter between culture and stakeholders who are involved in building the City and urban quality, and in describing Turin, the City, its architecture and its landscape, with different tools and methods.



http://www.urbanregeneration.it/

urban reGENeration,
Genova

Urban reGENeration is part of the 2004 Genovese edition of the Cultural Capital of Europe events. The project is divided into three parts. + città, an exhibit about architectural and urban regeneration, is the main event. Città in rete is a complementary and parallel part with workshops, international forums with actors involved in the processes of urban regeneration.
Città delle immagini is an international film festival of short films with thematic sections on the urban regeneration of European cities.