The iconic 2001 structure has become synonymous with the city’s skyline and is seen as the originator of an influx of modern buildings that includes the new Northwestern Mutual Tower and Populous-designed Fiserv Forum downtown. Mo Zell, the Senior Associate Dean of UW Milwaukee’s architecture department, says the impacts brought about by the $121 million pavilion are only beginning to be felt, and that she looks forward to seeing how the future of the city’s built environment will bear its influence.

“Twenty years feels like a long time, but it’s not,” she explained. “It’s youthful in terms of building change. I’m super excited because I think we’re on the cusp of seeing that design culture pay off in the not too distant future. The next 10 years is where you are going to see a lot more of the translation of that design in the city. I think we’re poised to have a different kind of conversation around how buildings play a significant role for the city and what it means to have good design is at the center of these conversations. Ultimately, good design brings in tourism, economic development and sustains the city.”

Although the museum and city made no plans for an official celebration, the anniversary has registered a considerable amount in the civic imagination of the local community. It has triggered a shift in the ways in which people associate Milwaukee with architecture, and, to Zell’s mind, legitimized the process through which the reputation of a starchitect figure like Calatrava is made.

“We’ve added a new name, in a sense,” she said. “It’s so important for us to recognize those architects more and focus on what they do. It helps the profession and the discipline so much for those names to be adopted. I would love it if that happened more and more. It’s a recognition of the creativity and the ideas behind these iconic buildings.”