Hola y bienvenido!
Last April, I had the opportunity to spend eight days in the heart of the Basque country with my fellow Geography classmates on fieldwork. It was without a doubt one of the most beneficial and fulfilling practical exercises I’ve undertook over the course of my education. Not only did I learn much about myself as a geographer, I learned how to put a city under a magnifying glass.
Bilbao is situated in the province of Bizkiai, Northern Spain and is considered the economical capital of the Basque region. (John Crowley, 2013) I could bring you through the entire history of Bilbao which is indeed an interesting one but for the purpose of this blog post, I’m going to fast forward to the 20th century when Bilbao was the economic powerhouse of the Basque Country. In 1900, the Euskalduna shipyards were founded where the largest company in Spain of this century located and was the result of the merger of several iron and steel businesses. However, after Bilbao went through their own version of “The Celtic Tiger” the iron and steel industry was hit badly towards the end of the century and the Euskalduna shipyards in 1988 were forced to close. As one can imagine, this was a huge blow for the residents and economy of the city, similar to that experienced in the Dublin Docklands discussed by Katie M!
“Around the globe during the 19th and 20th Centuries, many waterfront cities such as […] Bilbao […] developed [its] waterfronts for industrial purposes. However, as urban economies began to make a postindustrial transition, many of these once highly productive waterfront spaces went into decline and became redundant.” (Davidson, 2009)
“The massive industrial and trading complexes that once dominated urban waterfronts became landscapes of despair. As capital fled from urban waterfronts, the communities that were left behind often faced high unemployment, economic stagnation, and growing social problems.” (Davidson, 2009)
But the city of Bilbao took the hit in its stride. Instead of giving up, it was at this time that Bilbao underwent, to link back to my first blog post, a sort of Haussmannisation of its own. Originally a grotty city whose economy depended on shipping industry, a wave of redevelopment surged through the city in the 1980s in the form of urban infrastructure and material culture. A tragic flood that left much of the waterfront destroyed and the city in social and economic decline in 1983 was as much of a motivation than the closing of the shipyards. It essentially became a brownfield site. (Davidson, 2009, pp 215)
Careful planning had to be taken into consideration to rebuild Bilbao’s image. Physically the landscape has healed but the memories transcend generations. When the decision was made to rid the shipyard, all the families who were dependent on it economically (labor struggles exist to this day) organised many strikes to oppose this gentrification (this antagonistic relationship between civilians and police is evident through the graffiti on the streets). Bilbao is now a city of significant regeneration, reinvention and re-imagination. It seems that it doesn’t dwell too much nor depend on its past but alludes back to it through its urban infrastructure and material culture where modernity and tradition stand proudly side by side. The docklands have been remade into a postindustrial space where remnants of past activities now only exist in the form of postmodern pastiche, where quaysides support the balconies of luxury apartments and cranes exist as artifacts.
Image 1.1 Juxtaposition between the traditional architecture and the modern glass skyscrapers. Photo Credit: Jennifer Egan, April 2014
Image 1.2 A red Derek and stacked crates standing outside Bilbao Maritime Museum in remembrance of the city’s maritime heritage. The iOS codes are a modern twist. Photo Credit: Jennifer Egan, April 2014
Just off the Plaza del Saprado Coragon, Bilbao’s Maritime Museum acts as kind of a memorial site showcasing old boats and small ships shadowed by a red Derek/cranes, buoy structures as well as stacked crates that have iOS codes for iPhones (evidence of modernity and tradition merged). This is a bit off the beaten track and not obtrusive in the landscape. This may suggest that they humbly remember their past but choose to not let it dominate their present. Well, one might think that until they catch a glimpse of the new Euskalduna Conference Centre and Concert Hall located exactly where the shipyard originated. This is an extraordinary sight overlooking the waterfront. It’s rusty appearance imitates that of a ship being built. A new culture housed in an old one, one could say.
Image 1.3 Euskalduna Conference Center located down by the waterfront. The unique architecture of this building is reminiscent of Bilbao’s ship building past. Photo Credit: Jennifer Egan, April 2014
Apart from the aesthetic elements in this area, another thing that struck me is the high density of apartments that reach up to on average 5/6 stories along the waterfront. The planning department have gone to great lengths in catering for these apartment dwellers. Large public spaces are well-needed by the local residents of Bilbao to facilitate leisurely outdoor activities which they lack due to the fact apartments don’t generally come with a garden. These facilities are more than provided for in the form of running lanes, playgrounds, benches, roller skating rinks and greens.
Image 1.4 Bilbao’s waterfront is a well planned public space providing areas for recreation, leisure, sport and retail for both residents and tourists. Photo Credit: Jennifer Egan, April 2014
However the most significant feature of Bilbao’s waterfront is of course Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim which has become an iconic feature and huge draw for tourists. The design itself is reminiscent of steel and, for the visual culturist inside of me, an abstract resemblance of a ship sailing on waves. It’s a symbol of Bilbao’s past, present and possibilities.
Image 1.5 The most iconic building of Bilbao; The Guggenheim, designed by “starchitect” Frank Gehry. Is this a positive symbol of modernisation, or a sign that Bilbao has forgotten its roots? Photo Credit: Jennifer Egan, April 2014
I hear that its common practice in Hispanic countries for people to greet and part with a kiss, however due to the virtual circumstances, a humble muchos gracias and hasta la próxima will have to suffice!
Thanks to everybody who’s stuck with us, provided us with criticism and encouragement along the way! Everyone here at Drawing From The Archive’s hopes you’ve enjoyed it as much as we have!
Chau amigos!
Jennifer E | 112302041
Bibliography
All images are sourced from Jennifer Egan, April 1st – April 8th 2014.
Davidson, M. 2009 ‘Waterfront’ International Encyclopaedia of Human Geography, pp. 215-216.
Crowley, J. (2013) Case Study: Bilbao, [Lecture to BA Geography], GG2010: Geography of Tourism. University College Cork].
‘History of Bilbao‘, 2014, http://www.bilbaoturismo.net/BilbaoTurismo/en/hitos %5BAccessed 20th November 2014]
Drawing From The Archives 
Hi Jennifer,
As I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting Bilbao, it was great to see it ‘virtually- through your eyes’ for your final Blog Post. Firstly, let me add, that those of you on the Project Team, whom proverbially ‘nailed your flags to the mast’, so to speak, by listing your three featured Cities to be discussed from the outset, probably have received more hits than others-as once you had your Cities chosen, I was awaiting in anticipation re the next posting, knowing in advance that you had long ago chosen your Cities that would be featured and as a result, more organized and confident about the material lined up to use – it shows a great level
of commitment to follow through on original pieces chosen- a v positive point for me, as you followed through re your original commitment to your contribution to the project from the outset, which did not change and listed from the outset….it definitely helped me check every so often to see when the final piece would be posted.
I liked also the fact that you ‘personalized’ the piece, as it is great to put your own reasons and explanation right out there, for concentrating on a particular angle of a City’s past, (juxtaposed as well as you achieved it) with it’s current re-development from that ‘brownfield site’.
You have a great photographic eye and well-done on the photos used- I would love to know what sort of use is made of the v comtemporary sky-scraper, juxtaposed beside the Gehry Guggenheim- it is a beautiful image -the Guggenheim one and also your analogy of the ship at sea at ‘full mast’; it would have been nice to have included a usage for the more ‘functional’ sky-scraper in the same image, as an acute example of what you were exploring- form versus function, as well as aesthetics versus practicality.
I was also particularly drawn to your image of the new Conference Centre, but found it difficult to understand the image you put with it; it was a very ‘close up’ image and may perhaps have benefitted from another longer distance shot, juxtaposed beside it, to give the viewer, like me, whom has never seen the Conference Centre a ling distance view also, to see the analogy to the location’s ‘ship-building’ origins.
Overall, I probably enjoyed this post the most of all of your Blog postings, as I have ‘not yet’ visited Bilbao and your very personalized text was a great foil for the excellent photos you took. When one’s passion for one’s subject is as stong as yours it- it always shows in the writing and presentation of the work- and I believe you achieved this in its best format/mix of what you presented re Bilbao.
Finally, as I am a ‘stickler’ for grammar and sentence construction, etc, I would jyst say that although your most successful piece is this one, it felt ‘rushed’ in places and words omitted, and some sentences not greatly constructed. This can make it difficult for the reader to read the piece straight through from start to finish, as I had to re-read several sentences, due to missing words, or perhaps, para-phrasing from a source used, when a direct quote may have been better. Its ‘possessive case’, needs an apostrophe and best to use Bilbao again at the start of the sentence, as I had to re-read it a few times to figure out what the ‘it’ meant- Bilbao. These are just small, sentence construction and grammar issues, and small in the greater scheme of things, but NB for exam questions, as a reader woukd rather plainer English, that can be read straight through rather than trying to re-construct what you are endeavouring to say in your piece of work and no ‘slang words’- not even on a Blog, as it is a serious academic project!!!! Apologies for the ‘school teacher approach, but it makes it so much more enjoyable as a reader when the text flows more easily.
On a few ‘Team Work notes, if I may, I wondered from other Project Contributors’ previous pieces-do you proof read each others work, before posting it on the Blog? I suggest probably not and that as a Team Project, it is something the Team Members could all learn for future projects-where yes, each person makes a commitment to write x number of pieces to be posted, but the ‘T’ in Team work is best achieved, if the Team Members could not change the text, or thrust of any members’ work, per se, but help with proof-reading each piece by another Team Member before posting the final piece on the Blog pages.
Another item I noticed a lot was that some Contributors, like yourself, ‘personalized’ your interest in the particular angle you were going to approach, from the start and then did exactly that-if the other Contributors had all done the same, the texts and postings would all still have been inherently different in content, but displayed a level again of a more cohesive ‘Team work Approach’ , in terms of consistency across all entries.
My final compliment us for you- you have a natural flair/ USP for photography abd perhaps some of your Team – mates could have done with some ohotographic help from you with either photos, or their selection of other images used, as yours were superb throughout. Thank you so much for your very very interesting and ‘personalized’ posts and be proud of your excellent contribution and achievement!
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