“Oh dear, will you take a look at that!” You could say with a touch of humour that this is almost the typical initial response to any form of architecture that – if it remains true to the original design – ultimately develops into an impressive enhancement and a centre of attraction for a city or district that fills everyone with pride. The “oh dear” turns into a “magnificent” – and the effect or significance, beyond the design and the actual occasion themselves, is described as the “Bilbao effect”. Welcome to the world of Signature Buildings, the temples of high culture!
Urban landscapes – the most recent blog posts in April, May and June already took a detailed look at this topic – also include what are known as cultural clusters. These clusters are usually the result of a singular building, a “temple of high culture”, as the TV channel ARTE aptly describes them in a documentary series: these temples are all shaped by their “jaw-dropping architecture”, by the imposing, significant, deeply controversial design of a structure that exudes a radiance that extends way beyond the original purpose and function of the building itself. This is because the city begins to evolve around these temples of culture. Cultural clusters usually comprise several institutions such as museums, concert halls or performing arts centres, all located in a very small area. The Spanish city of Valencia is a successful example, where city administrators decided to build an entire “City of Arts and Sciences” in the 1990s. This culminated in a world of its own comprising a variety of futuristic cultural buildings set in a park-like (urban) landscape. The attractiveness of these clusters has a far-reaching impact and stimulates continued change, including positive macroeconomic effects. With the topic of “Valencia”, we have at least come close to the city that gave this phenomenon its name:
The “Bilbao or Guggenheim effect” describes how a polarising building, the “oh dear” we mentioned at the beginning, becomes an attraction with an irresistible radiance and appeal in the most literal sense of the word. The environment begins to experience transformation: the structures, design and mix of sectors change. Routes and promenades become more attractive, while other shops and cafés settle and the neighbourhood becomes livelier – and “Instagrammable”. And all of these factors have positive impacts on city tourism, the local economy and much more.
This term originates in the development of the northern Spanish city of Bilbao in connection with the Guggenheim Museum, which was completed in 1997 by US architect Frank O. Gehry. The journalist, photographer and theologian Nicolas van Ryk explicitly coined the term of the “Bilbao effect” in a publication in Die Welt daily newspaper to mark the tenth anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao: he claimed that constructing this Guggenheim Museum saved the city from terminal decline. “Bilbao has blossomed into an attractive business centre with artistic ambitions.” It is not at all surprising that the concept of a “signature building” is now used deliberately by many urban planners and is reflected in the architecture of contemporary company headquarters.
The “Bilbao effect” and the WEGRAZ philosophy harmonise on several levels, as our projects also embrace innovative residential and office models. Indeed, in some cases we conceive and develop fresh definitions and approaches in the world of living and working. And we are also familiar with an initial “oh dear” that still develops into a fairly resounding “stunning” later on …
Further reading:
Stunning architecture at WEGRAZ https:/
Documentation “Temple of High Culture” https:/
Trend terms from the world of architecture and project development https:/