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Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Museums and Cultural Venues

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Bilbao, Spain, built alongside the Nervion River and designed by the Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry. Affiliated with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, it was inaugurated on 18 October 1997 by King Juan Carlos I of Spain with an exhibition of 250 contemporary works, and it displays permanent and visiting exhibits by Spanish and international artists. Its titanium-clad, sculptural form has been hailed as a landmark moment in architectural culture and credited with transforming Bilbao's international profile, a phenomenon often called the Bilbao effect.

Facts
Year Created
1997 1
Location
Bilbao, Biscay, Spain, alongside the Nervión River 1
Architectural Style
Deconstructivism (as widely described by critics; Gehry himself does not identify with the label) 1
Structural System
Galvanized steel structure clad in titanium plates, with a limestone-clad base 1
Primary Material
Titanium 1
Building Type
Art museum 1
Commissioned By
Basque Government, in partnership with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation 1
Floor Area (sqm)
24,000 1
Current Use
Art museum, affiliated with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation 1
Visitor Access
Open to the public as a museum 1
Classification
Genre
Architecture 1
Connections

Created By

Frank Gehry, Artists
Sources
1. Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Building section, Cladding subsection, first sentence
    It is clad in titanium plates, arranged in scales, on a galvanized steel structure.
  • Genre reference
    The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Bilbao, Spain, built alongside the Nervion River and designed by the Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry.
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