What a wonderful place Bilbao is - we would love to go back there and spend more time getting to understand it better. We went there mainly for the purpose of seeing the Guggenheim museum and understanding how this has impacted the town. We found so much more :-)
How does Bilbao bring the story of place to life?
Bilbao seems to be a place where its continuing and evolving story of place is very much brought to life in all that is happening. It would be great to have time to better understand the place in more detail and how this is being addressed.
centre Country* in design?
Not sure that it does… very human centred in all that it does
Integrating street trees and gardens in many places
enhance its context, connections and culture?
The town really acknowledges its ancient and industrial past as it creates a new and different future, based on its culture and connecting it to its wider place in the Basque Country. The question of how it fits with Spain is interesting :-)
positively contribute to its watershed?
I am not sure how the watershed works, but did hear that big measures were put in place after a devastating flood in 1983 to control the river to avoid flooding… no idea where the good drinking water comes from or what happens to its stormwater and sewerage.
How does Bilbao celebrate resourcefulness?
It would be great to better understand how Bilbao approaches these issues in detail.
achieve net zero carbon in its life cycle?
Not sure about their energy consumption patterns
Lots of existing buildings retained and continue to be used
New buildings seem to be very carbon intensive, but are built for a long and extremely well used future
Issue of embodied carbon arose at Guggenheim, for both the art and building… possible solutions also found there in the art:
How can we better salvage materials for use in new work
This could include engaging the many underemployed refugees (who look to be really resilient and strong) to help with this, rather than selling illegal rubbish we don’t need
incorporate lean design for optimal resource use?
Some buildings look really lean (Santiago Calatrava bridge) while others seem wasteful (Frank Ghery museum)
balance economic measures of cost and value?
Invested in good and expensive infrastructure of railway to connect many towns and the Guggenheim Museum to ensure a strong future for the town
How does Bilbao enable communities to thrive?
It is hard to know how this has been approached no a very short visit. However, it does seem that there is a strong diverse community enjoying the town at all times of the day, together. The investments in infrastructure and well recognised buildings seems to be paying off for a wide cross section of the people of Bilbao.
improve the communities physical and psychological health and well-being?
provide equitable and affordable access and resources to diverse communities?
empower community members to realise their potential and flourish?
How does Bilbao foster ‘long now’ thinking of good ancestors?
This seems to be something that Bilbao is doing really well at :-)
respect and value existing communities and buildings?
The existing town and its buildings are very much at the centre of this place, and is valued by locals and visitors alike.
The focus on making this work for the future seems to have been very focused on valuing the people of the area
enable future communities to endure and adapt to changing climates and needs?
The big changes the city engaged in after the recession of the 70’s, the loss of the industrial businesses and the devastating flood of 83 were all about ensuring the community was well placed for the future. Which seems to have proven to be right.
regenerate resources as we use them?
I did not have time to find out about this…
How does Bilbao inspire and enable capacity and agency?
The story of Bilbao is inspiring. The reason we travelled there was to see what happened around the museum - and are so impressed with the whole, wider town. We saw a town that is thriving, with loads of people having the capacity to enjoy all that is on offer and participate in the wider community activities. We did not have enough time to get into the detail of the following dot points.
help us understand and want to be in relation with and care for Country?
support and promote healthy and fair supply chains?
inspire with stories that help us and others in our work?