Unrequited Architectural Bliss and Some Art Too
Like so many other tourists to the north coast of Spain, the Guggenheim museum is the magnetic pull to visit Bilbao. I have been waiting for this moment for ten years. From the moment it opened, the Guggenheim was put on my immediate list of “lifetime must see” places.
But first, I had to fuel up at the local bar. In Spain, during the day, bars are half restaurant, half coffee shop, and sometimes even then a bar. Actually, more than one customer was having a beer with their breakfast. For me though, tea and this nifty concoction hit the spot.
The town of Bilbao has a strong industrial history, of which the locals remain proud. The downtown could be fitting of many of the middle to northeast industrial cities of the United States.
From what is readily admitted in local tourist information and from people who have visited Bilbao in the past have said, the city has come a long way from its grungier past. The entire community has embraced the Guggenheim ideal and made it a focal point for urban renewal.
An eighth of the downtown waterfront has been razed and dedicated to new construction, that is in harmony with the creative concepts established by the Guggenheim project. Walking along the river bank the first obvious extension of the Guggenheim museum are twisted twin towers. 
The most recent transformation was the Salve Bridge over River Bilbao adjacent to the museum. The bridge was renovated, under the design of French artist Daniel Buren, as a ten-year anniversary celebration piece for the Guggenheim.
All in all, the locals are thrilled with the transformation of their town. It would be the equivalent of a single structure turning Toledo, Ohio into a world destination. With all due deference to the Zips and the Mud Hens, they aren’t likely to draw and incremental million tourists a year to northwest Ohio. The city even planted trees whose colors fade to red in the fall to match the adjacent bridge.
The care of this edifice is monumental in itself. Teams of guards, complete with dogs, continuously sniff and patrol the area.
Under the walkway a guard meets me as he methodically conducts is rounds. The presence is strong but not overburdening and blankets the outside of the complex and within.
This is a day dedicated to structural glory. Frank Gehry may have designed one of the most amazing buildings of the second half of the 20th century. Just as the Sydney Opera House was an icon of technology and design, so is the Guggenheim, Bilbao.
(Front entrance.)
(Back Entrance.)
At the time of design, the technology did not exist to actually create the structure and had to be developed. The titanium skin is about as thick as a piece of paper, with the manufacturing process taking three years in research and development, prior to actual production.
The glass panes are also a product of new technology, an incorporation of microscopic metallic fragments that provide UV and heat protection without loosing transparency. Otherwise the huge atrium would turn into a giant solar oven.
Once the plans were translated into computer CAD images, then the entire manufacturing processes had to be developed to turn idea into reality. For instance, since there are no vertical flat surfaces in the atrium, every piece of stone had to be custom cut by a lazer guided robotic machine to insure a perfect fit.
When Gehry made his initial drawings of the structure he never took the pen off of the page. This connected free flow of design is reflected in the sweeping visual overlapping of the actual structure.
Frank had several sources of inspiration. First and foremost was the time spent with his grand mother shopping for carp. They would buy the fish, live, at the market, bring it home and keep it alive in the bath tube until it was time to cook dinner. Frank would play with the carp during the afternoon. A reflection of this childhood time is the longest chamber of the museum (ground floor level), called the “fish gallery”. The titanium external panels are meant to represent scales.
Of importance to Gehry was to bring the city into the museum and the museum out into the city. That is why there is so much glass, to draw your eye outside the structure. He carries the titanium or blonde stone panels right into the atrium and entryways, blurring the contrast between internal and external areas.
The twisted twin towers on the other side of the Salve Bridge are a continuation of the museums theme and seek to embrace other elements of the city. They may very well be the most “over engineered” pedestrian walkway in the world, but are very effective. (From this angle the two towers appear to mirror the sloping staircase, which in turn complement the long curving shape of the "Fish Gallery".)
The renovation of the neighboring bridge was an architectural stroke of genius. The two structures play off one another and are now in harmony. The Picasso-esque red conjures up images of one of his bulls.
Several other elements seek to bring the outside “in”, two of which work together. There is a shallow reflecting pool that laps right up to the foundations of the museum, on the river side. This is an effort to bring the river and fishing heritage of Bilbao literally right to the museum.
The second design that works with this element is the pedestrian bridge, whose curved shape actually carries walkers over the banks of the Bilbao River, suspending them above the water's edge. So Gehry has brought the water to the museum and extended the visitors to the water.
There are many permanent exhibits at the Bilbao Guggenheim. One is the obvious giant spider, lurking on the riverbank. This is a work by Louise Bourgeois, named "Maman", cast in 2001. It was created in memory of her mother, who like a spider, was nurturing, strong, and yet physically frail.
Also outside on the patio, there is this cluster of metallic flowers that seem just a little too close to milar balloons for my taste and would be better suited over in the playground. (Yep, didn’t like ‘em.)
Inside the massive “Fish Gallery” is an exhibit by Richard Serra that was weighty to say the least. He is the artist who’s media is shaping massive sheets of steel. His twisted parabolas and curving shapes are hard to appreciate without actually walking through them.
Spatial perception is challenged as sound and light bend around the behemoth ferrous forms. This was another case where having the audio guide “made the experience.”
Outside, the exhibits continue, with the beloved “Puppy”, which is literally “tons of fun.” He is kept in bloom for most of the year.
Waiting for the sun to set, to take more pictures of the Guggenheim with the shadows of night, I wandered back towards the center of town. Everywhere there are examples of recent construction challenging the shape of design. A simple pedestrian bridge curves against its suspended spine.
The two new high rise buildings, built to compliment the bridge and the city, combine lower floors designed to match the mid-rise existing buildings, with growing blue towers that extend above, as if to blend into the sky.
A few blocks away is an “old-school” mission style church reminder that we are actually in Spain.
Another reminder is that hunger can be satisfied with variety. Bilbao Tapas are a perfect exploration of seafood and flavor.
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