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New Panama City Museum Attracts International Attention

The new Frank Gehry-designed Biomuseo is already a big hit, based on the volume of international media coverage.

A quick search of Google News finds hundreds of articles and TV reports touting the opening of the biodiversity museum this week, the type of publicity no international property market can buy.

The list of media outlets covering the inauguration of the museum included CNN, BBC, Associated Press and Time, to name just a few. Not surprisingly, much of the coverage has focused on Gehry’s colorful design, which is already taking a place in the pantheon of his great work. Inhabitat called it “origami-like.”

One of my favorites was Architectural Record, which used the Gehry museum in an unusual promotion, creating alternating covers for its October issue – one featuring the Panama museum and the other the design for Gehry’s Fondation Louis Vuitton museum in Paris.

El Biomuseo abre sus puertas al público el 2 de octubre de 2014.   Biomuseo

Architectural Record described the biomuseo as “a small, plucky concrete building with a vibrant roof of brightly colored angled metal, designed for an institution devoted to the biodiversity of that tropical region.”

Many of the articles linked the project to Gehry’s earlier work, such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. As someone with deep roots in Panama City, it is truly gratifying to see the city discussed in such company.

In many ways, the coverage justifies the long wait and financial uncertainty that surrounded the museum for several years. It’s already paying dividends on the investment, and it’s just starting.

20140917_0679  20140918_0140

In an earlier post, I talked about the impact of the Gehry on Panama City, and specifically on the fast growing Amador Causeway, which is drawing more attention as an international property market. But that’s only part of the story. When he spoke at the opening ceremonies this week, President Juan Carlos Varela said the museum would help paint a clearer picture of  Panama’s national identity.

It’s just these types of these groundbreaking projects and events that put Panama City on the map and place the spotlight on local growth, both culturally and financially.

Duncan McGowan is president of Punta Pacifica Realty, a Panama real estate agency focused on Punta Pacifica, the exclusive neighborhood of 18 towers perched on the edge of the Pacific Ocean.

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