BILBAO GUGGENHEIM

example of a major civic institution placed within an existing urban context. Sited at the juncture of a dense, mid-rise downtown commercial district and an industrial riverfront zone, the museum employs a strategy of connection and contrast with the two existing contexts.
Two formal languages, combined within the same building, mediate between the orthogonal context of the city grid and its architecture and the irregular architecture along the river's edge. For example, the portion of the building along the consistent downtown edge employs a cubic normative geometry in heavy masonry, while irregular shapes and a reflective, lightly colored titanium skin occurs along the river (Guasch 151). This second language contrasts with the rectangular geometry and matte, dark red and brown color palette of the downtown commercial architecture, while relating to the metallic industrial context. Ultimately, this complex strategy signals the special significance of the museum, both in terms of its public program and role in announcing the new, post-industrial future of Bilbao (Guasch 151).