A claim for architectural sustainability will take over the Plaza de las Mujeres during the Mugak Biennale

2025 January 10

• The fifth edition of the architectural event will build three temporary interventions in the three Basque capitals during October and November 2025.
• After a successful call for proposals from various countries, the jury has already selected the winner for Bilbao: a construction made from reused materials to raise awareness about more sustainable and adaptable renovations.
• Under the name ‘Etxenoi,’ the intervention will use materials such as scaffolding and debris, focusing on the domestic sphere to reinterpret architecture as a collective responsibility exercise.

On any street in our cities, a container full of debris and furniture, a result of a home renovation, can be found, ready to discard all the leftovers. Often, these renovations respond more to aesthetic changes than functional adaptations. Based on this premise, an architectural intervention will occupy the Plaza de las Mujeres in Bilbao next autumn during the Bienal Internacional de Arquitectura de Euskadi Mugak/, with the aim of promoting reflection on more sustainable and adaptable renovations.

In addition to the winner in Bilbao, two other proposals were awarded. The three proposals reflect on utopia from the perspective of sustainability and urban regeneration. The interventions dialogue with the city’s industrial memory and propose how to reuse and transform the existing urban fabric to build more sustainable futures. This approach makes Bilbao an experimental laboratory where temporary architecture translates into tangible and critical solutions for contemporary challenges.

‘Etxenoi,’ a collective house to criticize unthoughtful renovations

Bilbao will erect its proposal in the Plaza de las Mujeres, in front of the Abando station. The winning proposal is ‘Etxenoi,’ by Bilbao-based architects Jaime Gutiérrez Armendariz and Itziar Molinero Miranda, which reinterprets architecture as an exercise in collective responsibility.

The proposal compares renovations and interventions to 'fast fashion' consumption and presents citizens as active agents of change in building a more sustainable future. "Many of the changes in our homes are marked by large companies that change products every season. What happens inside our homes is extrapolated to different buildings and public spaces in our cities, where many are subjected to urban aesthetic surgeries without improving more important conditions such as accessibility, thermal comfort, or structural adaptability for future changes," explain the proposal’s authors.

‘Etxenoi’ focuses on the domestic, tangible, and everyday nature of housing interiors to bring architecture closer to the general public. It will center the debate on "the revolution of the future of our homes lies more in making more sustainable and adaptable modifications." The proposal dialogues with Bilbao's urban context by using materials like scaffolding and fabrics that evoke the city’s industrial landscape and construction tradition. Additionally, debris and discarded furniture materials will be collected and displayed to show "what we are discarding."

The jury highlighted "its ability to translate fundamental concepts of sustainability, reuse, and urban regeneration into architecture with great conceptual and functional impact. It stands out for its use of reused scaffolding, symbolizing the transition of architecture towards a circular economy. This approach minimizes the ecological footprint while offering an adaptable and functional structure. The inclusion of fabrics that allow domestic views adds an intimate and reflective dimension to the proposal."

In Bilbao, the jury consisted of María Arana, the Biennale's curator; Concha Fernández Ordoyo, Housing Delegate of the Basque Government in Bizkaia; Javier Martínez Callejo, Urban Planning Director of the City Council; architect Miren Escartín, representative of COAVN Bizkaia; renowned architect Ibon Salaberria from the School of Architecture of EHU/UPV; and architect Clara Hurtado from the Habic cluster.

Second Prize and Special Mention

The jury decided to award the second prize, with a €1,000 donation, to the proposal ‘Gaviones en el aire’ by Madrid's Pablo Paradinas Sastre, "for its creative approach to material reuse and its ability to reinterpret Bilbao's industrial past as a driver of contemporary utopias." The project, using reused gabion cages, proposes a rectangular structure for the square that can be used for different daily activities.

Additionally, a special mention was given to ‘Garden on the way’ by the Acha Zaballa studio, "for its radical and groundbreaking proposal that presents an ‘antipavilion’ as a critique of the construction of temporary structures. It stands out for its low ecological footprint and its ability to generate a reflection on the renaturalization of the city." The design consisted of two trailers, one of them containing a garden, and proposed the use of what already exists without constructing or manufacturing specifically for the occasion.

Intertwined Proposals: A Dialogue on Utopia

In Donostia, the Alderdi Eder esplanade, in front of the City Hall, will be the scene of a collective care claim through ‘Levedad y denuncia: el bordado como utopía en femenino.’ In Vitoria-Gasteiz, a wall will divide the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca with ‘Utopía: prohibido el paso,’ a proposal that will question the existence of borders and invite citizen participation.

All proposals are intertwined, creating a dialogue on utopia. In Bilbao, the reflection on utopia begins from the past and projects toward the future: the selected projects reinterpret industrial memory and the urban landscape, proposing sustainable solutions that regenerate the territory. This approach of responsible transformation dialogues with Donostia, where proposals focus on opening spaces for encounter and participation based on historical and social narratives, and with Vitoria-Gasteiz, which centers the power of public space as a place for questioning and collective expression. Together, the three cities weave a narrative connecting sustainability, memory, and citizen participation as pillars of contemporary utopias.