The Gift

Architectural gifts are everywhere: wealthy philanthropists finance libraries, humanitarian organisations donate emergency shelters, agricultural businesses are supported by development aid funds, Islamic foundations finance mosques and stadiums are handed over as part of diplomatic charity campaigns. Embedded in this way in religious and imperialist traditions of giving, architectural gifts influence urbanisation processes all over the world. Humanitarian, developmental and diplomatic donations of buildings are now ubiquitous in rapidly expanding African, Asian and South American metropolises and their hinterlands. In North American and European cities, too, so-called philanthrocapitalists are investing in cultural, social and educational institutions left behind by the dwindling welfare state.

This exhibition highlights donated buildings - from the spectacular to the ordinary, from the extravagant to the genuinely useful - that reveal how the unequal relationships between giver and receiver can result in both beneficence and violence. What are the benefits of an architectural gift and how might it cause harm? We document how the giving and receiving of architecture affects the production of these buildings and how the programme, design, materiality and labour conditions of construction are affected. We consider the economic gain and political influence of the donors. We examine whether architectural gifts require quid pro quo and, if so, what constitutes such a quid pro quo gift. We explore the question of whether the respective obligations of recipients and donors continue after the building is completed. What does the future life of a donated building look like and how is it accepted, maintained and used by local communities?

Last edited on 09.10.2024