The Architecture Biennial Mugak/ opens 4 exhibitions in Bilbao this week and hosts conferences of international stature
2021 November 8
Residential building in Neguri, by Juan Daniel Fullaondo
- The capital of Bizkaia is dedicating the exhibitions to three important figures: the art deco of Joseph Hiriart (Institut Français), the multifaceted Juan Daniel Fullaondo (COAVN headquarters) and Manuel I. Galíndez (Bizkaia Aretoa).
- The travelling exhibition and documentary 'Artesanos del diseño' (Artisans of Design), by the Habic cluster, will reveal in Plaza Euskadi the pioneers who made design furniture a new Basque industrial sector.
- The Biennial will also bring important speakers to Bilbao: the Guggenheim Museum will welcome the architect Fermín Vázquez and the Bizkaia Aretoa hall will host the London-based 6a Architects and the Swiss Christian Kerez.
- A conference and workshop on the past, present and future of Abando station will take place on Thursday 11 at the Sociedad Bilbaína. In addition, next week, a seminar will share between Bilbao and Sestao an approach to the concept of productive housing.
Bilbao is flooded with architecture this week. The Mugak/ International Biennial of the Basque Country brings its cultural activity to the capital of Bizkaia with a programme full of exhibitions, conferences, workshops, seminars and other activities as part of the great Basque architecture event. All of them are free of charge.
This third edition, with the slogan 'Heritage and modernity', brings exhibitions to Bilbao for the first time, and does so with 4 proposals. From Wednesday 10th, the exhibition 'Joseph Hiriart, master of Art Deco' will be on display outside the Institut Français in Bilbao. Organised by the Higher Technical School of Architecture (ETSA) of the UPV/EHU, it brings together, through 33 panels, some of the most outstanding works of the architect from the Basque Country and Tunisia.
From Thursday 11th, at the Bilbao headquarters of the Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos Vasco Navarro, and also run by the ETSA, the exhibition 'Las arquitecturas bilbaínas de Juan Daniel Fullaondo (1964-1978)' will open its doors. It delves into the architect's intense bond with his city, through a selection of built and unbuilt projects (extension of the Port of Bilbao, the old Alhóndiga...) and the issues of the architecture magazine 'Nueva Forma', a reference in the sector at that time, of which he was the director.
Another architect is the protagonist of the third exhibition: 'Manuel I. Galíndez, architect', can be visited in the Bizkaia Aretoa hall from Saturday 13th. Organised by the architectural culture association Arkupe, it highlights the figure of Galíndez for his coherence and way of doing things. Coherence that is evident in the value assigned to composition, beyond style. The exhibition presents those urban buildings of his production that are of the highest quality, more sensitive to their surroundings, with a more refined language and a more emphatic composition.
A fourth exhibition will be added to the Mugak/ programme in Bilbao from the 12th. It is 'Artesanos del diseño', by the Habic cluster, which will then travel to the other two Basque capitals. It will be installed in Plaza Euskadi and will bring to the public the story of the pioneers who in the 70s and 80s turned design furniture into a new industrial sector in the Basque Country. Eight iconic pieces from eight traditional companies make up the exhibition: Akaba (Usurbil, 1985), Mosel&Arkaia S.L. (Vitoria-Gasteiz, 1962), B.lux (Markina, 1979), Enea-Eredu (Legorreta, 1963), Imat (Vitoria-Gasteiz, 1974), Ondarreta (Donostia, 1975), Sellex (Donostia, 1977) and Treku (Zarautz, 1947). Their founders are the protagonists of a documentary, which can be seen free of charge at the Fine Arts Museum on Thursday and Saturday.
Vázquez, 6a Architects and Kérez, in Bilbao
Some internationally renowned architects will also be in Bilbao. It will be in the afternoon and in conversation format. The Guggenheim Museum will host a conversation between architect Fermín Vázquez and architect and EITB collaborator Andoni Pombo, in collaboration with the museum's TopARTE programme, on Tuesday 9 at 18h.
The Bizkaia Aretoa hall will offer a double session on Friday 12th: Londoner Tom Emerson, from 6a Architects, will be with architect and critic Fredy Massad, at 18:30h. Afterwards, at 19:30h, the Swiss Christian Kerez will be the protagonist of a conversation with professor María Esnaola.
More activities
Mugak/ offers citizens the opportunity to participate in Bilbao. Among the activities on the programme is the workshop 'Destino Abando', organised by the Eraikune cluster, which is part of a day-long event on the past, present and future of the station. It will take place on Thursday 11th, at the Sociedad Bilbaína.
Next week, a seminar will divide between Bilbao and Sestao several days to address the issue of productive housing from different areas: city and nature, intervening on the built and the domestic. It will take place between 16 and 19 November and there will be a multitude of guests who will make up the full programme, such as Izaskun Chinchilla, the Husos Platform and Carlos Gor of GRX Arquitectos.