In Bilbao\u2019s Basque Country capital, a major expansion of the Museo de Bellas Artes opens to the public on 6 October 2026: a \u001cfloating pavilion\u001d conceived by Norman Foster\u2019s Foster + Partners in collaboration with Basque architect Luis Mar\u0000eda Uriarte. The \u0000845m project doubles the museum\u2019s exhibition area to around 6,000 sq. m and remodels a further 8,000 sq. m of existing galleries, reshaping the institution\u2019s circulation and presence within the city.<\/p>\n
Until now, the museum\u2019s holdings\u2014spanning Lucas Cranach the Elder, El Greco, Zurbar\u0000e1n, Goya, Mary Cassatt, Gauguin, Bacon and Richard Serra, alongside oriental art, archaeological treasures and decorative and applied arts\u2014were split across two buildings: a Neo-Classical structure from 1945 and a Modernist, Mies van der Rohe-influenced 1970 expansion. Both were renovated in 2001 by Uriarte. The new extension links these wings and adds two curved, light-flooded upper storeys that overhang the front fa\u0000e7ade, supported by giant V-shaped elements.<\/p>\n
A 1,000 sq. m, light-drenched atrium now serves as a visitor centre and the nexus between old and new galleries. The red brick 1945 entrance\u2014a classical rectangular archway flanked by twin statue-filled arched alcoves\u2014will be restored and reinstated. The uppermost floor will host temporary exhibitions and includes a viewing terrace and a restaurant with views of the city and surrounding hills; there will also be a space dedicated to architecture and design, a new documentation and research centre, and offices, services and facilities. Additional spaces support the permanent collection\u2014presented both chronologically and thematically\u2014alongside the ongoing programme of temporary exhibitions, a new educational centre, and areas for family activities and workshops. On the upper level, a restaurant overlooks the park.<\/p>\n
The extension was selected via an open competition, in part for its sensitivity to the museum\u2019s fabric. \u001cWhat appealed to us about the Foster and Uriarte proposal was that it didn\u2019t interfere with the existing architecture,\u001d says Miguel Zugaza, the museum\u2019s director. \u001cIt enhanced it and offered a new dimension to the museum, integrating the two earlier styles of architecture\u2014the 1945 building and the 1970 building\u2014and uniting them in a very ingenious manner. It also fulfilled several different requirements: not only the physical expansion of the museum but also reorienting the museum towards a different side of the city\u2014not towards the river but towards the Guggenheim [museum].\u001d<\/p>\n
Less than ten minutes\u2019 walk from the Guggenheim Bilbao and the Nervi\u0000f3n River, the Fine Arts Museum gains clearer urban links as Foster + Partners have pedestrianised the centre of the roundabout in front and reduced traffic lanes. \u001cThe great good fortune of a city like Bilbao is that we have two museums so close to each other,\u001d Zugaza says. \u001cWe\u2019re only 500 metres from the Guggenheim but we\u2019re not in competition with each other. We have very different offers and different histories. The Fine Arts Museum can be seen as effectively the Basque Country\u2019s national gallery and I think this new stage in our history will extend what we can offer visitors, not only to Bilbao but to the whole of the Basque Country.\u001d<\/p>\n
The project is funded by the Basque government, the regional government, the provincial council and Bilbao city council in conjunction with the privately-owned BBK Banking Foundation.<\/p>\n