I have visited Bilbao twice, in 2002 and 2003. The famous and iconic Guggenheim museum is one of the best reasons to visit this former industrial port city.

The construction of the museum has spurred a region-wide rennisance of the Basque country with longer lasting effects than any development like the Olympic Games could give a city.

With the funding of the Basque government and the support of the Guggenheim organization, Frank Gehry created a fascinating building. The building anchors itself well into the fabric of the city, and embraces a major highway bridge. It also brings the city down to the waterfront, and the former railyard is now a vibrant pedestrian walkway, and brand new trams run silently over grass.

As a scuplture, the building is remarkable. As an artmuseum it is pedestrian, interesting to look at, but almost always intruding on the art. Richard Serra's enormous steel works are nearly the only pieces that are on a scale that compete with the sculptural quality of the building.

Fascinating to look at, certainly. Great to take pictures of, absolutely. A reason to visit an otherwise skippable city, most definitely.

Compare this building to the fisher center, or Gehry's fish sculpture in Barcelona.

External link: greatbuildings.com

Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa
Bilbo, España. (Bilbao, Spain)
Frank O. Gehry 1997.