Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Architect Frank O. Gehry's most important work

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About the book The Guggenheim Bilbao

Indisputable icon of the city of Bilbao, the Guggenheim Museum was designed by the avant-garde North American architect Frank O. Gehry, who combined art and functionalism in order to create a unique ensemble of sculptural design that has ended up converting into an international reference.

Perfectly blending in with the urban surroundings, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has transcended its function as an art centre, decisively contributing to recuperate the vitality of the zone in which it is situated and consolidating itself as the most recognisable symbol of the economic, social and cultural transformation of the city.

This book dedicated to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao shows in detail the origins and the structure of a building that changed the concept of modern architecture. By means of photographs, drawings and 3D illustrations, the reader will find out about the original ideas and solutions introduced by Gehry, who drew on the latest technology to conjure up the complex volumes and sinuous, titanium surfaces that characterise the building, inspired by the maritime and industrial character of Bilbao.

Deluxe Edition

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

  • It includes exclusive digital content
  • Made with environmentally friendly paper
  • Official licensed product
  • "Premio Clap Platinum" Best Design category

About the book The Guggenheim Bilbao

Indisputable icon of the city of Bilbao, the Guggenheim Museum was designed by the avant-garde North American architect Frank O. Gehry, who combined art and functionalism in order to create a unique ensemble of sculptural design that has ended up converting into an international reference.

Perfectly blending in with the urban surroundings, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao has transcended its function as an art centre, decisively contributing to recuperate the vitality of the zone in which it is situated and consolidating itself as the most recognisable symbol of the economic, social and cultural transformation of the city.

This book dedicated to the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao shows in detail the origins and the structure of a building that changed the concept of modern architecture. By means of photographs, drawings and 3D illustrations, the reader will find out about the original ideas and solutions introduced by Gehry, who drew on the latest technology to conjure up the complex volumes and sinuous, titanium surfaces that characterise the building, inspired by the maritime and industrial character of Bilbao.

Videos Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Readers opinions
(4)

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Reviews
(4)

André Gobert (Belgium)
André Gobert (Belgium)
A great book to find out about the museum, with high quality content and which deals with the subject in great depth. Its very informative.
Carlos D. Tellez (Mexico)
Carlos D. Tellez (Mexico)
Very good information and excellent photos. A book with very good content.
Roberto Bertettin (Italy)
Roberto Bertettin (Italy)
The illustrations and the graphic information are very well done. I recommend it.
Ricardo Perea
Ricardo Perea
The content seemed to me to be of a high quality and very well documented.

Readers opinions
(4)

André Gobert (Belgium)
André Gobert (Belgium)
A great book to find out about the museum, with high quality content and which deals with the subject in great depth. Its very informative.
Carlos D. Tellez (Mexico)
Carlos D. Tellez (Mexico)
Very good information and excellent photos. A book with very good content.

Additional Information

  • Additional Information
  • Subtitle: Architect Frank O. Gehry's most important work
  • Weight (g): 1095
  • Binding: Hard cover
  • Size (cm): 26,5 x 26,5
  • Author: Dosde
  • Pages: 0
  • Edition: Deluxe Edition
  • language
  • Spanish
  • English
  • French
  • German
  • isbn
  • 978-84-15818-50-2
  • 978-84-15818-51-9
  • 978-84-15818-52-6
  • 978-84-15818-53-3
  • sku
  • 25-006-00
  • 25-006-01
  • 25-006-02
  • 25-006-04

The history of the Guggenheim Museum

In a bid to rejuvenate Bilbao after the downfall of its industry in the 1980’s, the Basque Administrations got in touch with the Guggenheim Foundation at the start of 1991 in order to set up a consortium that would authorize the construction of a contemporary art gallery in collaboration with the prestigious firm established in New York.

It was the North American architect Frank O. Gehry who was chosen to carry out the new museum. In his project, Gehry wanted to draw on the maritime past of the City of Bilbao, which was intrinsicallly linked to the Nervión Estuary. In order to do so, he created a building whose curves and lines remind of boats sailing up the estuary, and used titanium cladding to recall the region's mining and steel industry past.

The Guggenheim, the Bilbao museum converted into an icon

Around the late 1980’s, the abandonment of factories, shipyards and industrial infrastructures made the cleaning up of Bilbao’s estuary possible. This meant that many sites on the Nervión’s banks were now available for the construction of residential and civic properties, with the result that the watercourse turned into the very backbone of the city.

The choice of spectacular architectonic projects for this zone, with the Guggenheim Bilbao at the forefront, acted as a starting point of a virtuous circle that attracted tourism and trade to the city. In a short period of time, Bilbao went from being a city dominated by industry to a city with a large number of its inhabitants working in the service sector, with the subsequent positive effect on the quality of life, with Bilbao entering the 21st century as a first rate European centre of development.