Fine Arts Museum Bilbao

Collaborating with Foster + Partners on the competition for the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum expansion was a true privilege. In a project of this scale, where architecture seeks to redefine a city icon, our responsibility was to distill the entire essence of the proposal into a single image—one capable of explaining the future of the museum in one look.

The Bilbao Museum is a collection of layers: the original 1945 building and the 1970 addition. The challenge for Norman Foster and Luis María Uriarte was to add a third element that would provide more space and visibility without overshadowing the existing heritage. The winning concept, titled “Agravitas,” sought to do exactly that: to float above history.

Foster’s intervention stands out for its light, technological structure that hovers over the current buildings, creating a new suspended gallery. This move not only expands the museum but also generates a large, covered public square—the Arriaga Plaza—connecting the museum with the urban fabric and Doña Casilda Park. It is architecture defined by transparency and impeccable technical elegance.