E N S A N C H E A N D I T S S U R R O U N D I N G S

Looking beyond the Abandoibarra area,the transformation of Bilbao is manifest inthe work carried out in the Ensanchedistrict, home to unique new constructionsat the service of both the city and its people.

Fine Arts Museum

Whereas the Guggenheim is the museum of art collections,the Fine Arts Museum is the museum of art.

Inaugurated in 1945, and designed byarchitects Fernando URRUTIA and GonzaloCARDENAS, this Neo-classical buildingwas declared a Historical-Artistic Monumentin 1962.

Subsequently erected in 1972, the modernbuilding is the work of Alvaro LIBANO andRicardo BEASCOA, influenced by theModern Movement. Inside, the Museumhouses an exquisite collection of paintings.

The Fine Arts Museum of Bilbao was re-inaugurated after it was enlarged.

Under the direction of architect Luis MariaURIARTE, the building gained anotherstorey which provided an extra 1,000 m2 inexhibition space, a library and a 220 seatauditorium. Additionally, there is a noveleducational department to divulge thecontents of the permanent library collection,and of course, Arbolagaña Restaurant, aplace for culinary art.

Despite all the modifications, the modernappearance and feel, the Fine Arts Museumof Bilbao continues to maintain its historicalroots.

Bizkaia Provincial Library

The Bizkaia Provincial Library is aninnovative modern combination of glass andstone, a gigantic cube with 12.5 km ofshelving. During the day its façade reflectsthe image of the Provincial GovernmentBuilding, just opposite, while at night itreveals its book collection to the outside.The building can accommodate 500,000volumes exactly double the number ofvolumes presently in the collection.

Perhaps the designers' detailed knowledge of the city,the Bilbao-based architectural firm IMB, enabled them tosuccessfully come up with an edifice perfectly tied in withthe rest of the city centre. More than just a library, thiswork has brought life to the area, making it friendlier,more inhabitable and more human. With the books insight, the people of Bilbao have found a place for pleasantconversation.

Osakidetza Building

Designed by Juan COLL-BARREAU, the most intellectually restless ofBasque architects, the Basque Health Service Building is found rightdowntown Bilbao. Its unmistakeable polyhedron façade is transparent,with movement and life, and yet above all, functional.

Its sustainable design makes for a building that behaves as a thermalcushion in winter while it is well-ventilated in summer. The façade'smultiple planes reflect the other buildings around it, traffic and even thenearby mountains, all pervaded by its greenish coloured glass. Certainly,the building corner is a mark of distinction, not only here, but forthe whole area of more classic building designs, fully integrating MrCOLL-BARREAU's innovative work.

Isozaki Atea Towers

Inevitably, the Isozaki Towers bring to mind the PetronasTowers of Malaysia or the former Twin Towers of NewYork. These 80 m. high twin buildings bring the Ensanchecloser to the River as never before with a corridor stretchingfrom Zubi-Zuri bridge to Alameda Mazarredo Avenue.

Jointly designed by the Japanese architect Arata ISOZAKIand Basque architect Iñaki AURREKOETXEA, the complexcomprises seven buildings altogether, with constructionbeginning in 2003 after the demolition of the Bilbao BondedWarehouse Building.

The technical aspect of the two main towers was highlychallenging, though strangely enough the greatestcomplication laid with the five small blocks distributed likea screen which reutilised the foundation of the old building.The construction of a square and a stairway measuring over70 metres in length solved the level difference between theRiver and the Ensanche district. The use of a variety ofbuilding finishes aspires to differentiate the building complexfrom the appearance of standard overcrowded housing.

Architect Iñaki AURREKOETXEA highlighted that “unlikeother buildings, not only were these buildings to becontemplated, but the people of Bilbao could walk amongthem and use them.”

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Basque Government Building

The Basque Government building inBizkaia Square metaphorically recreatesreflective sunglasses due to its location,a place in Indautxu district with highlyirregular dimensions, of great lengthyet with a reduced irregular width.

Indeed, it was the sum of these verylimiting factors that motivated thearchitects even more, the samearchitects who designed the EuskaldunaConference Centre, Federico SORIANOand Dolores PALACIO.

Finally, this eight floor buildingwith its undulating façade makesoptimum use of available sunlightas it faces west, contributing to asustainable building, with theserigraphed motif adding characterand beauty as well.

San Mames Barria and University Campus

The location of the Stadium, at the end of Ensanche district,with its privileged view of the River obligingly turns thisbuilding into an architectural icon manifesting itself in clearno uncertain terms. This is how the Bilbao-based architecturalfirm ACXT approached the design of the new San MamesStadium: San Mames Barria. The team of architects led byCesar AZCARATE has designed a glass and metal façadeand roof with vertical metal elements allowing light to enterthe stadium, thereby endowing it with tremendous luminosity,visibility and functionality.

Seat 53,000 spectators, San Mames Barria is basicallydistributed between two amphitheatres and an intermediatering housing the VIP suites.

The stadium will be a neighbour of the Basque Public

University (UPV-EHU) technological campus.

Moreover, the area will have a new motor vehicle

access road to Bilbao via the Olabeaga cornice. This

fact prompted ACXT to accord added value to vehicle

traffic by emphasising spatial qualities and intimately

integrating them into the city and surrounds.

In May 2010, legendary Athletic Club football

goalkeeper Jose Angel IRIBAR was requested to tear

a small piece of the pitch and deposit it on a transparent

plaque. Outside the stadium, first team player Iker

MUNIAIN removed a stone from the outer wall located

next to the VIP suites. The two pieces of 'red and

white', history were transported from hand to hand

via a human chain to the site of the future stadium.

As of the 2015 season, the new San Mames will be

the venue where Athletic Club will play its matches.

One could say, in fact, that in Bilbao football is almost

considered a religion, and the significance of the

stadium going far beyond that of a mere a football

pitch, as its popular name implies: the new Cathedral.

However, so that it will be more than just football, the newstadium will stand along side the Technological Campusof the Basque Public University (UPV-EHU).

Therefore, apart from the Auditorium in Abandoibarra, thePublic University will have the following buildings in Bilbao:the existing School of Industrial Engineering, which willremain next to the coach station; the new building of theSchool of Industrial Technical Engineering, currently in LaCasilla; the School of Public Works and Mining, currentlyin Barakaldo; and pending confirmation: the new Schoolof Telecommunications and Audiovisual Communication,and the new University RD&i Centre and Library.

The School of Public Works and Mining,

Sarriko Conservatory

The new Bilbao Conservatory Juan Crisostomode Arriaga in Sarriko was designed by architectsRoberto ERCILLA and Miguel Angel CAMPO.

The complex acoustic and functional needs wereresolved by reducing the number of formal andconstruction resources which such an avant-garde building might have had. A good exampleof these novel features is its system of fluorescentlamps flooding the interior of the double façadewith colour that changes automatically accordingto the pre-programmed date and time.

Next to the Conservatory a children's playgroundwas created with the first toys in the city dedicatedto experimenting with sound.