Urban Regeneration Example : Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao

Ruined city became art

Bilbao once was a industry hub of Northern Spain with the discovery of iron ore mines during the Industrial Revolution. The port of Bilbao was always crowded with the boats and ships. Bilbao, one-time small city for the Santiago pilgrims stopover, has grown unprecedentedly at that time.

But the glory did not last long. The steel industry, which was the main industry of Bilbao, began to fall into a path of rapid decline after 1980. The subsequent terrorism by Basques separatist left a big scar on Bilbao. Those who gathered for money left the city, and empty ironworks and harbors were ruined and left neglected.

Resurrect the city of ruins

In the late 1990s, small movements began to rebuild the city among citizens who could no longer afford the city's wretchedness. Most urgent and important thing was to deal with the old harbor which remained like a monster.

They moved the old harbor, which remained near the city center, to the outskirts of the city. They planned to build many public facilities and gradually removed the image of the old city. It was an outstanding achievement to bring the third museum branch of Guggenheim to the city. A new world-renowned museum brand 'Guggenheim' was built in the ruined city. With that name alone, Bilbao began to receive world attention again.

▲ Guggenhaim Bilbao. Titanium Fortress. (Image Credit : Viator)

Sparkling Titanium Fortress, Bilbao Guggenheim Museum

A huge titanium fortress is standing on the banks of the Nerubion River. It is the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum designed by American star architect Frank O. Gehry. The appearance of the new Guggenheim Museum in this small city was shocking. The Architect designed this marvelous museum by using a computer program to design ships. It couldn't be drawn by common sense. Both Tribute and condemnation were also poured out.

Nowadays, people all over the world love not only the vast collection of this museum but also the museum itself. Millions of people began to flock to Bilbao. Also, Bilbao's efforts have created new parks, offices, apartments, and shops in the area surrounding the museum. It was the moment when the city of ruins was transformed into a new one.

Comments

Retail Example : Kingly Court in Soho, London

London Kingly Court's Space Plan Many buildings in Historic City London have their own stories. Kingly Court, located on West Side Kabyle Street, formerly used as a timber warehouse, is now owned by Shaftesbury, a retail investment firm. Shaftsbury invests in a variety of real estate properties, including retail, office and residential properties in the UK. Shaftsbury owns over 100 retail stores and over 60 restaurants on 13 streets only in London. Among them, 'Kingly Court' is the building with the highest return on investment. You can get a unique insight in Kingly Court, which breaks the industry's common sense that high-yielding real estate is difficult to gain popularity among the lessees and the public. Kingly Court was constructed to include large voids in the middle of the space in the form of a courtyard. The shops inside the court have the same visibility. In other words, there is no dead zone retail space because it is noticeable in any p

Urban Regeneration Example : Battersea Power Station in London

Regeneration of useless space As time progresses, the places that once played crucial role for decades sometimes have fallen into the scourge of the city. However, when redeveloping these spaces, the reminiscences of the past occasionally serves as a strong points enhancing the value of space. There are variety of 'rejuvenation projects' that are born again as completely new spaces from double-binded one. Recently in London, a project is underway to regenerate the entire thermal power plant that once provided power to the entire city. Battersea, which was built in 1939 in London's Wandworth District, had served as London's main power source for about 45 years until the shutdown of the power plant in 1983. It was left untouched for over 20 years. ▲ Battersea Power Station (Image Credit : What's On) In 2004, the city of London set up a development plan for this area. At that time, the land price itself was so high that it had a difficulty attracti

Retail Example : Nicolas G. Hayek Center in Ginza, Tokyo

Nicolas G. Hayek Center's retail innovation techniques Many leading fashion houses' flagship stores are located in Ginza with the highest concentration of Western shops in Tokyo. Ginza is one of two locations in Tokyo considered to be the best locations for a luxury goods store. Nicolas G.Hayek Center is located on the street bi-directionally in Ginza with a green vegetation rising up the wall. This building is used both as headquarter and flagship store of Swatch Group Japan, which has won all kinds of architectural awards in Japan. The Swatch Group succeeded in securing space in the middle of these Ginza Street. During the construction period, they realized the difficulties to put a variety of group's brands in the building. Among the 19 watch brands owned by the Swatch Group, only seven brand store were scheduled to launch in the building, the Breguet, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Jaquet-Droz, and Leonart Leon Hatot, Omega, and Swatch. ▲ Nicholas

Creative Real Estate

Search This Blog