Years before Frank Gehry’s dazzling Biomuseo completed construction in Panama City, its memorable form—a collision of riotously colored folded metal canopies—became a hopeful emblem of the developing country’s arrival on the world stage. Ubiquitous in travel promotions and even emblazoned on the side of some of Copa Airlines’ fleet, the building was pegged to become a symbol of national pride. But as construction of the 44,000-square-foot project dragged on over a decade—while countless slapdash commercial towers sprouted up, changing the urban landscape with shocking speed—many locals have looked on with detached bemusement. “They call it the museum that never ends [que nunca termina],” a cabdriver said, laughing on a recent ride out to the building, located dramatically along the Amador Causeway at the Pacific entry to the Canal.
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