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The Biscay province's government announced plans to invest €40 million in Urdaibai
Earlier this week, officials from the Biscay province's government, whose capital is Bilbao, announced plans to invest €40 million in Urdaibai, an estuary to the east of Bilbao with hundreds of plants species and thousands of human residents. The provincial council has set the total cost of the new museum at €127 million ($129 million), according to Deia, a Spanish-language outlet based in Biscay.
A "tunnel" connector links the Guggenheim Bilbao to its extension
According to El Correo, a "tunnel" connector would connect the Guggenheim Bilbao to its expansion. According to Unia Rementeria, the deputy general of Biscay, the potential project is "important" and has the potential to "generate a lot of well-being in Biscay society."
The potential to become the "first major museum of the 21st century
The Guggenheim's plans to expand to Urdaibai date back to 2008, when the museum announced plans to construct a 53,800-square-foot space there. Guggenheim officials attempted to promote the project in the years since. The Guggenheim Foundation's director, Richard Armstrong, stated at the time that the Urdaibai space had the potential to become the "first important museum of the twenty-first century." Some interpreted his statement that the space "would not be an architectural icon, but a landscape icon" as a sign that the Guggenheim was interested in creating an environmentally sustainable museum.
The project is expected to attract 148,000 visitors per year
The Guggenheim has also painted the Urdaibai project, which is expected to bring 148,000 visitors per year, as one that will create 900 jobs in a region with a 12 percent unemployment rate at the time. The Guggenheim Bilbao, which opened in 1997, was founded on a similar ethos. Officials at the Guggenheim praised the project for combining private and public funding, though locals in Spain were less enthusiastic at first. However, in the 25 years since, it has been lauded—and imitated—for its ability to bring record-breaking tourism to the region.
Politicians in Biscay were unhappy with the project
The Guardian reported in 2010 that politicians in Biscay—and the Basque region as a whole—were dissatisfied with the project because decisions were allegedly made by the Guggenheim Museum in New York without consulting locals. While Basque officials defended the project as a possible solution to Urdaibai's unemployment and failing industries, some feared that a Guggenheim museum would make little difference. The Basque government announced the project's official postponement in 2013, as the local economy was in decline. The Urdaibai project appeared to have stalled over the last decade as the Guggenheim concentrated its efforts on opening a museum in Abu Dhabi and, briefly, another in Helsinki. The Abu Dhabi space is still under construction, but it is scheduled to open in 2025. The idea for the Guggenheim Helsinki was conceived in 2011 and rejected in 2016.
A museum, yes, but without negative impact
Local politicians revived the Urdaibai expansion plan in 2021. This time, local politicians appear to be more united—El Diario reported that Biscay officials collaborated with the Basque government to make the museum a reality. Biscay politicians stated earlier this year that they do not anticipate the museum having a negative environmental impact. If the Urdaibai museum is built, it will be housed in a former cutlery factory in Guernica and shipyards in Murueta. The two towns are about a 10-minute drive apart, and the Guggenheim Bilbao is about a 40-minute drive away.
Jean Dubreil