BY OWEN FINDSEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
![[cac]](/editions/1998/11/15/cac_150x167.jpg)
This model of the CAC's new museum will be unveiled today.
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"Where are we?" That was the question asked by the Cincinnati Urban Design Review Board on Sunday as they saw the new model for the proposed Contemporary Arts Center (CAC).
The question, put to Marcus Dochantschi, architect with Zaha Hadid's London studio, was not about location, but about time. Plans and a computer animation show the proposed CAC at the northwest corner of Sixth and Walnut streets. What the board was asking was how far along is the design process.
"We're about at 50 percent of the design phase," Mr. Dochantschi answered.
The board was concerned that the model and drawings for the building are still highly conceptual, and could be misinterpreted as a finished design by people who will see the model to be unveiled today.
The dramatically lit, plexiglass model is still more theatrical than structural. The precise building materials are not shown, and many of the board's questions could not be answered. Board members David Niland, John Senhauser and Chairman Lee Carter had their last look at the designs in July.
"It's similar to the way Detroit designs a car," explained KZF Vice President Don Cornett. KZF is the local architectural firm working with Zaha Hadid. "At the start, it's all imagination, and as it goes along, it gets more and more tangible. Most of the work so far has been done by Hadid's office. From now on, we'll be doing more and more of the work to prove that we can achieve what the model shows."
CAC Director Charles Desmarais said the reason for unveiling the model at this stage is for fund-raising purposes.
"We've been fairly quiet up to now, and most of our money has come from people who are close to the Contemporary Arts Center. In December we are going to go into full gear, but it's difficult to do that unless you have a model to show."
The CAC building will cost $27.5 million, including $5 million for an endowment and $1 million for fund-raising expenses, Mr. Desmarais says.
The project has $4.3 million from the city of Cincinnati for site clearance and preparation and hopes for $5 million from the state. So far, $8 million in private funding has been raised.
![[cac]](/editions/1998/11/15/cac_493x550.jpg)