Trinidad
National Academy for the Performing Arts, Port of Spain
Trinidad's oil reserves have made it one of the richest countries in the English speaking Caribbean, though you would not really know it from a walk around down town Port of Spain. Tending to go for urban branding and spectacle over a more subtle distribution of oil wealth, the Trinidad government has put its money in to a few extravagant projects - such as this concert hall. Built by a Chinese construction company for the Trinidad Government at an estimated cost of $500 million, this is a highly controversial project with much outraged coverage in the local media. The question is - who is it for? On my visit - there seemed to be no regular programme for its use and apparently there is no national orchestra who might require such a venue. Time will tell whether the benefit of constructing 'an icon' in terms of nation-branding will outweigh such pragmatic concerns.
