Architecture Sketch – Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, Spain

Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain

This is a sketch I did at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. The taking of photos were not allowed inside, so we used our hands to capture the interstitial spaces, curves, lines, and much more. Designed by Frank Gehry, the museum has lifted the city of Bilbao. The building is impressive with so much to see and experience. I appreciate its siting because it affords glimpses, surprise views, and great photographs.

There are many criticisms of the Guggenheim for its design, and its success (or lack of) as a public space.  I would say, “Go experience it yourself.” The time of day, year and even season affects your feel, like or dislike of a place, or space. I would agree the building does seem to turn its back on the river and the surrounding context. The public and the river could have been brought in more successfully making the building a better component of the urban fabric. But that’s just me. Fact is, you cannot criticize something when nothing exists. Did we know of Bilbao before the Guggenheim and Calatrava’s bridges were placed there? Not as much as we know now I bet.

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This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.