Yanko Apostolov, RIBA, known for his award-winning museum designs, research facilities, and mixed-use and high-rise buildings worldwide, will present next week on the topic of Eastern European cultural growth at the International Museum Construction Congress (IMCC) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Speaking on the topic of “Europe’s New Museum Development Frontier,” Apostolov will discuss how EU funding for culture, together with the region’s relatively low construction costs, are allowing significant national museums to modernize and once again plan for growth.

“Eastern Europe may have largely missed out on the global museum building boom of the last 30 years, but recent developments are pointing to a brighter future there,” says Apostolov, who presents the first phase of the Bulgarian National Gallery expansion as a good example. “It represents an integrated design-and-funding approach to reinventing museum institutions in the context of a larger European cultural framework.”

In the session, Apostolov — who won an international design competition for the museum complex in Sofia, and is now Design Director at Cooper Robertson in New York City — will talk about the process and lessons learned over the past five years.