Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Project highlights: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

• Firm: Gehry Partners, LLP
• Owner: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum & Foundation
• Location: Bilbao, Spain 

Upending preconceived notions of what art museums can be, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao’s revolutionary form was the iconic catalist to redefine and revitalize Spain’s Basque region while supporting a wide range of cultural initiatives. Conceived at the pivotal moment between analog and digital practice, the museum has been an integral part of urban life in Bilbao since opening in 1997, persisting as a symbol of the power of good, human-centered design’s ability to embolden creativity and fundamentally reshape communities.

The idea for the museum began in 1991, when the director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation approached Frank O. Gehry and Associates, now Gehry Partners LLP, with the notion of developing a museum in Bilbao’s industrial district. The region, which once boasted a potent steel manufacturing sector, had faltered in the midst of socioeconomic challenges. An initial proposal suggested converting a former warehouse, but Frank Gehry, FAIA, proposed building on a site adjacent to the Nervión River, which cuts through Bilbao on its way to the Bay of Biscay. Gehry was later awarded the project because of its strong engagement with the city and the design’s potential to forge a new identity for Bilbao.

From its place along the river, the museum stands at the center of a cultural triangle formed by the Museo de Bellas Artes, Deusto university, and the historic town hall. It is directly accessible from the city’s business and historic districts, and the Puente de La Salve Bridge passes over the site’s eastern edge, positioning the museum as one of Bilbao’s central gateways. The museum’s exterior features Spanish limestone in its rectangular buildings, while its iconic sculpted forms are wrapped in titanium panels that recall Bilbao’s former industry. Throughout the design process, the team relied on 3D modeling software CATIA, which not only kept costs down and minimized material waste but also translated Gehry’s experimental forms into reality.  

Inside, the team designed three discrete types of exhibition spaces to accommodate the permanent collection, temporary exhibitions, and the work of selected living artists. Galleries for the permanent collection are two sets of three consecutively arranged square galleries, which are stacked at the museum’s second and third levels. A dramatic and column-free rectangular space extends to the east of the museum’s central atrium to accommodate temporary exhibitions, allowing the museum to accommodate large-scale art installations. The work of selected living artists is shown in a series of 11 distinct galleries, each with their own spatial characteristics.  

“Bilbao showed how inventive and challenging architecture could be, and it marked a change in what museums were trying to achieve,” Max Hollein, director of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, said of the project’s impact on cultural institutions. “It was a metamorphosis from the museum as repository to a total concept of the museum.” Bilbao felt the substantial economic effect of the museum immediately after opening, enjoying a more than $160 million economic impact and a 28% increase in tourism in its first year of operation, important changes in the small but vital region. The museum continues to attract nearly 1 million visitors annually, nearly half of which travel from other countries to engage with the building and the works of art inside.