Cathy Crane Frankel

Cathy Crane Frankel is deputy director for interpretive content at the National Building Museum. She has shown transformative leadership in making architecture and the built environment accessible, immersive, and engaging for diverse museum audiences.

For over twenty years, Frankel has transformed what a museum about “buildings” can be, opting for playful, participatory, and process-focused experiences instead of static models and jargon. Under her leadership, the National Building Museum has hosted memorable, impactful exhibitions. Through popular events like the Summer Block Party series, she has made the built environment engaging and fun, while promoting learning and civic awareness. Her belief that museums should involve people in understanding space design and use has shaped a new exhibition approach.

Her recent exhibition, Building Stories, examines the built environment through children’s literature, collaborating with authors/illustrators David Macaulay and Oliver Jeffers, and curated by Leonard Marcus. This multisensory, intergenerational experience highlights Cathy’s dedication to engaging young audiences and their families, fostering early understanding of design and spatial awareness.

Frankel’s exhibitions are visually arresting and alter behaviour and perceptions. Whether wading through 130,000 recycled plastic balls or walking through a house of sneakers, her projects provoke thought and invite play. She emphasises the building process and how people experience space, bridging content, interactivity, and human connection in ways other institutions often struggle to achieve.

Cathy Crane Frankel also plays a vital role in interpreting architecture and design as expressions of culture, beyond mere aesthetics. She has contributed to transforming the National Building Museum into a space where the public can explore the stories behind their environments and envision ways to influence and improve them for the future.