IPSE DIXIT A project so disruptive it became a byword. In fact, the “Guggenheim effect” or “Bilbao effect” today is a term used to describe the positive impact of spectacular architecture on the economic development of a city. Designed by architect Frank O. Gehry, the museum was the first step in transforming the former industrial center in northern Spain into one of the most visited areas in Europe. It was built with 33,000 extremely thin titanium panels, reflecting light differently depending on the time of day. But before its birth, not everyone welcomed it. Criticism centered above all on its supposedly excessive costs (100 million dollars), and some doubted it would have any positive effect on the city. «It is a real soap opera, something worthy of Disney, that will cause serious damage and the paralysis of all cultural activities.» Jorge Oteiza, Spanish artist, 1992, 1992 LIVING CORRIERE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM, BILBAO (SPAIN, 1997) THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM: THE “SOAP OPERA” THAT CHANGED BILBAO In its first three years, the museum was visited by nearly 4 million people, generating 500 million dollars in profit. It is estimated that during the same period, the city of Bilbao earned more than 100 million dollars in taxes thanks to the spending of visitors drawn in part by the museum. IN SHORT Name: Guggenheim Museum Bilbao Location: Spain Start date: 1993 Inauguration year: 1997 Criticisms: Excessive costs, detrimental to the city of Bilbao Results: A panel of experts interviewed by Vanity Fair in 2010 called it the most influential work from 1980 up to that time THE BENEFITS OF A GREAT WORK SOURCES LIVING CORRIERE https://living.corriere.it/architettura/ guggenheim-bilbao/ IL SECOLO XIX https://www.ilsecoloxix.it/cultura-espettacoli/2012/11/11/news/effettoguggenheim-1.32634576
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