The Mugak/ Biennial kicks off in Bilbao with the opening of its pavilion

2025 October 17

• “Etxenoi”, by Bilbao-based architects Jaime Gutiérrez Armendariz and Itziar Molinero Miranda, rises in the Plaza de las Mujeres as a statement in favor of architectural sustainability in contrast to the “fast fashion” of domestic renovations.
• The installation, which simulates a house, is made of reused materials and displays waste items from the local garbigune (recycling center), such as rubble and furniture, drawing attention to refurbishments driven purely by aesthetic changes.
• The pavilion will be one of the Mugak/ Biennial’s venues this year in Bilbao, although activities will take place across the city — from a lecture by the renowned Massimiliano Fuksas at Azkuna Zentroa to exhibitions like “Protopia” at Estación del Norte.

17 | 10 | 2025

The International Architecture Biennial of the Basque Country, Mugak/, has inaugurated the pavilion that now presides over Plaza de las Mujeres, marking the start of its fifth edition in Bilbao. The pavilion, titled “Etxenoi”, advocates for architectural sustainability against the “fast fashion” trend in domestic renovation.

The leading architectural event of the Atlantic Arc, promoted by the Basque Government’s Department of Housing and Urban Agenda, began last week with the opening of its main exhibition, “Eu-topías, Ou-topías”; the keynote lecture by Professor Lesley Lokko OBE; and the launch of the program in Donostia with the inauguration of its pavilion. This year’s theme reflects on architectural utopias and their power to help build better futures.

Today it was Bilbao’s turn, with the opening of the project by AMA Architectural Office, founded by locals Gutiérrez Armendariz and Molinero Miranda.
The installation, designed to resemble a home, is built entirely from reused materials, incorporating discarded objects from the garbigune — such as debris, a mirror, and a television.

Its aim is to draw attention to renovations motivated solely by aesthetic change and to advocate for responsible, sustainable architecture:

“These transformations are often driven by major furniture brands that change products every season, or by the desire to make certain homes look ‘sexy’ on rental websites. What happens inside our homes is also mirrored in public buildings and spaces, which undergo urban cosmetic surgery without addressing crucial issues such as accessibility or thermal comfort,” explained AMA.

The pavilion was sponsored by Horbisa, Loiumat, and Akaba, with collaboration from COAAT Bizkaia, which provided a technical architect to coordinate its construction.

“This year’s Biennial theme calls for utopia as a working method, and that idea is embodied in the pavilion we open today,” said Miguel de los Toyos, Deputy Minister for Housing. “When we talk about utopia, we often think of an ideal, perfect plan or system, almost impossible to achieve. However, examples like this show that even if utopia itself cannot be reached, the journey toward it brings meaningful achievements — as this pavilion demonstrates — in sustainability, reuse, recovery, and urban regeneration,” he concluded.

This is the second edition in which Mugak/ has built a pavilion in Bilbao.

“This initiative brings the reflections and debates of the Biennial closer to the citizens of Bilbao — discussions around architecture, sustainability, and new ways of inhabiting our cities. These timely debates take tangible form in public space through this pavilion,” emphasized Asier Abaunza, Bilbao’s Councilor for Urban Planning, Strategic Projects, and Public Space.

Massimiliano Fuksas, October 31 in Bilbao

Renowned Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas will speak on October 31 at 12:00 p.m. at Azkuna Zentroa, in conversation with Ramon Prat, founder of Actar Publishers. Fuksas, internationally acclaimed, will discuss how imagination, ethics, and creativity can transform our spaces and cities — and how architecture can serve as a tool for building contemporary utopias, challenging limits and proposing new ways of inhabiting the world.

For Fuksas, architecture is an act of exploration — a borderless journey where ideas, encounters, and visions intertwine. From his early experiences in London, Copenhagen, and Paris to iconic works such as La Nuvola in Rome, Fuksas demonstrates that building also means imagining utopias and engaging with the world through openness and generosity. His architecture transcends form: it is lived space, a political gesture, and a human connection.

A rich program through November 9

Etxenoi will remain in Plaza de las Mujeres until November 9, when Mugak/ will conclude its program in Bilbao. Until then, the city will host numerous free activities designed to bring architecture closer to the public.

Pabellón Etxenoi. Photo: Mikel Blasco

In addition to Fuksas’s talk, the program “Oteiza and the Motionless City” will feature a fascinating discussion on the project the sculptor Jorge Oteiza developed with a group of architects for the 1994 competition to redesign the Zorrotzaurre peninsula. This roundtable, on October 28, will analyze Oteiza’s project and others submitted for that competition. The program will also include “Zorrotzaurre 1994. The Island and the City That (Could Not) Be”, a conversation with Ramón Zallo, who conceptualized the socio-cultural and facilities program of Oteiza’s proposal, on November 4.

The Biennial will also bring several exhibitions to Bilbao. Among them, “Protopía” by Ana Retuerto and Pablo Alberich, opening this afternoon at Estación del Norte and running until November 14. The exhibition celebrates the creative process, beginning with the idea of the home as a utopia. A box with a set of instructions was mailed to various professionals in architecture, design, and art. The results, returned in those boxes, make up the exhibition. Among the participants: architect and philosopher Marina Povedano, who sent a destroyed object referring to the genocide in Palestine; Anna & Eugeni Bach, whose contribution reflects on the construction of home through a bird’s nest; and architect Jon Ander Aguirre, whose piece addresses the minimum conditions of housing and the reduction of habitable space.

There will also be workshops. One, titled “We Make Cities”, will imagine possible futures through the critical and creative use of generative AI tools. Taking place on October 24 at IED Kunsthal, the workshop will collectively rethink Bilbao, with the resulting images later incorporated into the Biennial’s main exhibition. On October 30 and 31, artist Kris Meraki will lead a hand-felting workshop at the Etxenoi pavilion, creating a wool piece using local materials.

Within the Biennial’s exploration of utopias, housing will be the focus of a special session on October 29 titled “Otros habitares”. The discussion will address the housing crisis, shaped by real estate speculation, climate emergency, and the deterioration of existing buildings. It will serve as a space for critical and constructive reflection, gathering insights from the Bilbao City Council, the citizen platform HouseEurope!, and collectives such as Urbanbat, Straddle3, and Peñascal Koop, which developed the “Kabian” housing innovation project. In the afternoon, AMA Architectural Office will present a critical analysis of public housing in the Basque Country, followed by architect and programmer John Porral presenting “The Bedroom Script”, an interactive installation exploring the potential of computer-generated design.

All activities are free of charge, though some require prior registration. The full program and registration forms are available on the Mugak/ Biennial website.