Internationally renowned architects, including Frank Gehry, Norman Foster, César Pelli, Arata Isozaki, Zaha Hadid, Rafael Moneo, Philippe Starck, Santiago Calatrava, Ricardo Legorreta, Federico Soriano, Álvaro Siza, etc. have made Bilbao a great example of avant-garde architecture in the different projects which today make up the horizon of the city.
Bilbao Todays Bilbao is the result of a process of renovation and reinvention necessary to address the new challenges of the 21st Century. This process began with the opening of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in 1997, marking the starting point for the renowned impressive and economic, urban and en-vironmental transformation of the city performed with the colla-boration of the most important architects of the world.
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Bilbao City of Design UNESCO. 2014
Finalist in the World Design Capital 2014 Competition International Council of Societies of Industrial Design
World Mayor Prize to the Mayor of Bilbao, Iñaki Azkuna The City Mayor Foundation. 2013
National Award for the Best Project of the Year in the Field of Transporting Goods and Merchandise European Freilot Project. 2011
European Public Sector Award (EPSA) European Institute for Public Administration. 2011
Leer Kuan Yew World City Prize 2010 City-State of Singapore. 2010 Considered “The Nobel Prize for Cities”
Prize for Best Urban Practices Shanghai Expo. 2010
1st, 2nd and 3rd Municipal Transparency Award Spanish Division of Transparency International. 2008, 2009 and 2010
Named among the 10 Best Tourist Destinations in the World The Times and Lonely Planet. 2008
European Prize for Regional and Urban Regeneration European Prize Council of Town Planners. 2004 and 2006
Prize for Cultural Management Italian Section of the Council of European Municipalities and Regions. 2005
The ISOCARP Award for Excellence International Society of City Regional Planners (ISOCARP)”. 2005
“Città D’acqua” Special Award Venice Architecture Biennale. 2004
Euskadi Tourism Award Basque Government. 2004
European Healthy City Award Pfizer Foundation. 2004
After embarking upon its new direction at the end of the last century, Bilbao received important awards in the first decade of the 21st century. This iconic city, which was founded on industry, com-merce and finance, received important international re-cognitions for its reinvention.
Awards and recognitions
A conference city Bilbao is a city where all types of conferences, conventions and meetings can be held, thanks to its current characteristics, its new layout and its tradition as a centre of economic, scientific and technological activity.
Bilbao is a city where all types of conferences, conventions and meetings can be held, thanks to its current characteristics, its new layout and its tradition as a centre of economic, scientific and technological activity.
Bilbao has all the equipment, venues and services needed for conferences and meetings. Its urban, warm and personal character encourages any visitor to stay and feel part of the city.
As well as having a human presence through their pedestrian zones, pathways, transport and clean-up and security operations, the streets of Bilbao are open spaces where you can gaze upon the works of artists such as Salvador Dalí, Eduardo Chillida, Jorge Oteiza, Jeff Koons, Manolo Valdés, Louise Bourgeois, Marcus Lüpertz, William Tucker, Nestor Basterretxea and Vicente Larrea.
A gateway to art
Bilbao also has 12 museums, many art galleries and exhibition halls which mark both banks of the river estuary, serving as a bridge between history and the avant-garde.
The Bizkaia Aretoa is located the heart of the newly developed area of Abandoibarra. This area represents a clear example of the reinvention of Bilbao. What was formerly an industrial port area today embodies the Bilbao of the 21st century.
The venue The 19th CIRP Conference on Electro Physical and Chemical Machining (ISEM XIX), will be held at the Hall of the University of the Basque Country (BIZKAIA ARETOA) designed by the Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza (Pritzker Prize 1992).
The venue
The Bizkaia Aretoa offers a 441 people conference room (Mitxelena Auditorium), and 3 rooms for the parallel sessions: Baroja Hall (161 people), Arriaga Hall (64 people) and Laboa space (60 people).
Space distribution: o Ground floor Reception desk Exhibition area o First floor Lunch & Break area o Second floor 3 parallel sessions area
Bilbao is the key hub for air, sea and land transport links in the north of Spain and the Atlantic Arc.
How to get there
Situated ten kilometers from the city, Bilbao International Airport offers direct flights to other major cities in Spain and Europe, serving more than four million passengers a year.