On Building Expansions for Cultural Institutions

From the New York Observer: While entirely separate, capital and operating budgets are intimately related, and tend to create a vicious cycle: More capital growth means more square feet that have to be heated and lit and staffed, which means an increase in the operating budget, which means a need for more revenue streams, which means glitzier exhibits to draw in the crowds, plus a bigger fund-raising and marketing staff—which, in a time of budget cuts, means less money for research and the scientific staff. As Philippe de Montebello, the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has said of the effects of the 1990s building boom on museums in general, "It’s not the glow of health, it’s the flush of fever."