Top of the World
The Guggenheim isn’t the only waterside architectural wonder in Bilbao; just up the river sits another impressive construction, the Euskalduna Palace. The Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall is located in the city of Bilbao, Basque Country, beside the Estuary of Bilbao, built in part of the area that was formerly occupied by the Euskalduna shipyards. It was designed by architects Federico Soriano and Dolores Palacios and construction started in 1994.The building was inaugurated in 1999, features mosaic-style windows, and massive exterior walls of rusty looking corten steel. The inspiration behind the look: to stand symbolically as the last vessel built in the dry dock of the former Euskalduna Shipyard, which played an important role in the city’s growth and history. The architecturally acclaimed Euskalduna Palace houses over 50,000 square meters of space, and boasts both the largest and second largest stages in Spain. The multipurpose venue serves as an opera house, concert hall and conference center, and therefore hosts a range of events from cultural to corporate. Temporary exhibitions are held here as well.
