Conference Venues

Bizkaia Aretoa UPV/EHU

The iconic building fosters the main ‘paraninfo’ of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), linking its three campuses to the very heart of the city of Bilbao. It is home to two auditoriums, fully equipped meeting rooms, exhibition spaces, open rooms and offices. On the first floor, the 400 sq m terrace has stunning views over the Bilbao river estuary and the Guggenheim museum. Inaugurated in 2010, it is a proud example of the neat architectural style of the Portuguese Pritzker Prize Álvaro Siza. White marble façades shape this elegant prismatic volume that opens up its silent volume to accompany the quiet flow of the river at the center of Bilbao. Located in an emblematic area of the city, the building is home to all kind of social, cultural, academic and scientific events. Bizkaia Aretoa UPV/EHU will host the main programme of the DRS2022 conference and it is walking distance from the Guggenheim Museum and the Azkuna Zentroa as well as from the city center.

    

        
WHAT WORKSHOPS, CONVERSATIONS, PAPERS, PhD EVENT
        
WHEN FROM MONDAY 27TH TO SATURDAY 2ND
    

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

The creation of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao was the outcome of an unprecedented partnership between the Basque Administrations and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. 25 years after it opened in October 1997, the Museum is a reality that has exceeded the most ambitious artistic and cultural expectations and has made an extraordinary contribution to the urban, economic, and social regeneration of the city of Bilbao and its immediate environs. Its membership in an international constellation of museums gives it access to an extensive Permanent Collection which encompasses all the artistic holdings of the Guggenheim Museums, including the works in Bilbao’s Collection. These works complement each other and as a whole are able to offer a more exhaustive, comprehensive view of modern and contemporary art. The Museum’s artistic programming encompasses both presentations of the Permanent Collection and ambitious special exhibitions, which are combined to provide viewers with a broad, dynamic perspective on the art of our time. The Museum’s building, today the most recognizable icon of the city of Bilbao, is a huge titanium, stone, and glass sculpture designed by architect Frank Gehry.

    

        
WHAT OPENING CEREMONY, URBAN HABITAT KEYNOTE DEBATE
        
WHEN MONDAY 27TH
    

Azkuna Zentroa – Alhóndiga

The Alhóndiga was designed by the Basque local architect Ricardo Bastida at the beginning of the XX century as the city’s warehouse for wine, liquors and oil. In the decade of the 1970s, it was no longer used as such, as new modern warehouses were set up around the city and a different, faster way of life emerged. After considering several solutions for the 460,000 sq f space, including demolition, the Basque Government declared it “Public Property of Cultural Interest” in 1999. Its full renovation started in 2001 by the French designer Philippe Starck, giving life to a beautiful sophisticated balance between the new and the old. The works were completed in 2010. Today, the Azkuna Zentroa has become the city’s ‘Society and Contemporary Culture Center’, a diverse public space that aims at becoming a provocative epicentre of transformation within the community and among its inhabitants. It is today a lively dynamic cultural center hosting a seamless program of activities at the very center of Bilbao.

    

        
WHAT ECOSYSTEMS KEYNOTE DEBATE
        
WHEN WEDNESDAY 29TH
    

IED Kunsthal

The implementation of the European Institute of Design Kunsthal-Bilbao (IED Kunsthal), within the so-called Creative Island of Zorrozaurre, takes place in the industrial pavilion known as Papelera (Manuel Andonza, 1958). The building is one of seventeen industrial facilities that remain in the Zorrozaurre Special Plan, projected on the basis of Zaha Hadid’s Masterplan. It is the only vaulted building on the island and one of the few existing buildings of this type in Bizkaia.

The architectural project for the implementation of the classrooms, facilities, and equipment related to teaching was designed in 2019 by Jesús Arrecubieta and Ricardo Ruiz, partners of abr/+/arquitectos and teachers at IED Kunsthal. The architectural proposal is based on the introduction of prefabricated wooden elements, adapted to the pre-existing infrastructure. An interesting dialogue is created between the industrial building and the educational institution thanks to the respect for heritage and the intelligent use of small-scale architecture.

    

        
WHAT PhD EVENT, WORKSHOPS
        
WHEN SATURDAY 25TH AND SUNDAY 26TH
    

Ensanche Building

The Ensanche Building, located in the city’s heart, was built in the 19th century as a food market. It quickly became the symbol of the annexation of the Abando geographic area to Bilbao as the population was growing steadily. It was later demolished and replaced by the current construction designed by the architect Germán Aguirre in 1944.

It is today a municipal building managed by Bilbao Ekintza. Different activities are carried out in its spaces for the city’s economic revitalisation in business promotion, employment, and talent growth. It regularly hosts training courses, workshops and open innovation sessions.

Still today, a small market takes place in the basement. The rest of the building consists of a large central atrium on the first floor and two floors of offices. The large central atrium, which covers an area of 450 square meters, has a skylight roof supported by metal arches and a metal chimney at the back, which houses the ventilation system. For DRS2022, we will use the atrium, the multipurpose room (120m²) and the training room (70m²).

    

        
WHAT WORKSHOPS
        
WHEN FROM SUNDAY 26TH TO FRIDAY 1ST