05th of May 2016
Among the outstanding architectural masterpieces of the XX century the Guggenheim Museum at Bilbao definitely stands out. This is not only because of its blatant deconstruction, but also the value it is to the city, as a museum and an architectural piece. Frank Gehry made his masterpiece as contemporary as possible. To such extent that even critics lament about his novel style and vision of architecture.
In Spain, hardly anyone can be surprised by whimsical architectural forms, bearing in mind the works of Antonio Gaudi in Barcelona. However, Frank Gehry seems to have outwitted the latter. What he created, is impressive due to the fluidity of forms feature characteristic of deconstruction (Muschamp). The design is based on a steel frame, consisting of three-meter lattice sections. All of them of rectangular form, with the bends and undulations created on the areas of the joints. The building is faced with curved titanium sheets. The glass surfaces are flat, but they are incorporated into the original design, so that their "flatness" brilliantly harmonizes with the twists and kinky metal parts (Muschamp).
What only did the people compare the architecture of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to! It looks like a futuristic spacecraft for interplanetary travel, it is associated with a blossoming flower on the river, looks a bit like a bird, or even an artichoke. All of this only confirms the success of the architectural buildings, the appearance of which opens up endless opportunities for imagination (Muschamp). And this is correlated and utilized with the already prominent on the outskirts of the museum a giant metal spider sculpture by Louise Bourgeois and the 13-meter flower terrier by Jeff Koons (Plaza).
This huge spacecraft parked on the banks of the river Nervión entirely belongs to the 21st century, where architecture becomes part of the life of the city, its pride, its economy and its soul.
Creating a museum in the capital of the Basque Country was a joint project of the City Hall and the Guggenheim Society, whose headquarters is located in New York. The main objective of the construction with a total cost of 100 million euros, was to create a new space in the old river port – the factory area, full of abandoned and unsightly halls, barracks and warehouses. The Guggenheim Society, for its part, planned with the help of the new museum to expand its exhibition space and create a new art center in the Old World. An interesting fact that Bilbao was originally supposed to become a museum of contemporary art, which would be famous for its collection of the Guggenheim Society (Plaza).
Architect Frank Gehry did not stray from his favorite style of deconstruction, in which the building breaks all academic and intuitive rules of construction, notably standing out of the blue, compared to other city buildings, including ultra-modern skyscrapers. Even the "Dancing House" in Prague as one of the most restrained works by Gehry aggressively invades the urban environment with the irregular shape and is attracting the attention of passers-by (Plaza).
In an interview Frank Gehry stated that "the bends, twists and turns of the museums facade and general construction are designed to capture the light." The fact that he is right, is easy to judge by how clearly visible the flexible circuits the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao are at any time of the day. And that was the first idea of the architect - to prove that the violation of the usual architectural forms, can lead to an unusual appearance of the building (Plaza). The second idea was to agree on the appointment of the construction with his appearance. After all, the modern art museum is also on the outside an example of the new era of creativity (Plaza).
Guggenheim Museum has become the pinnacle of the American architect's career - jumble of shapes and lines, shining titanium curved panes, sharp protrusions, winding roofs and walls, all windows located in unexpected places rivet attention. Interestingly, Gehry took into account the experience of designing a "Walt Disney" concert hall in Los Angeles, where the locals complained, and made the side of the building facing the street, more aligned and strict. The boxed shaped sandstone at the museum entrance became the foundation from which his flow of imagination stems further, growing into a fantastic bunch of metal and glass (Bruggen).
The inner space of the museum is also ambivalent: it consists of ten classic rectangular rooms and nine rooms with an unexpected shape of the walls, floor and ceiling. Deconstructionism in the interior is successfully used for exhibitions of contemporary art - the majority of the museum exhibits are sculptures and video installations. The main and only permanent exhibition of the museum is the collection "Matter of Time" by an American sculptor Richard Serra, located in the largest 130-meter squared exhibition hall (Bruggen).
Frank Gehry has for the first time in the construction of the museum applied the "Organization of the artist" principle, thanks to which the construction of the ambitious project was completed on time and according to the initial budget - a rare occurrence in our time. The secret was to prepare a detailed and comprehensive plan of construction and transfer the entire control of it to the architect, to protect the project from the influence of businessmen and politicians (Bruggen).
However, more was the influence of the Guggenheim Museum on the city. Previously an old industrial area, has in fact, changed. More so, the economic value of the new building has surpassed all expectations. For the first three years of its work it attracted almost 4 million tourists, which invested into the city's economy about 500 million euros, 100 million of which went through taxes directly to the budget Bilbao. Thus, the museum expenses have already been returned in three years. The museum, though, continues to generate a steady income to the city treasury (Plaza).
Despite its relatively young age, the Guggenheim Museum at Bilbao has made a claim for a place among the contemporary works of art. For example, just two years after its inception the museum was among the natural scenery of the famous film about the agent 007. However, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, of course, deserves much more than a background role even if it is the in the world’s largest film distribution.
Works Cited
Bruggen, Coosje Van. “Frank O. Gehry: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.” New York, NY: Guggenheim Museum Publications. 1997. Print.
Muschamp, Herbert. The Miracle in Bilbao. The New York Times Magazine. Section 6. 1997. Print.
Plaza, B. The Bilbao effect (Guggenheim Museum Bilbao). Munich Personal RePEc Archive. 2007. Print.
