MARIA MAIZKURRENA'S BLOG, FEATURING BILBAO AS A REAL AND UNREAL CITY . STREETS AND PLACES, PEOPLE AND EVENTS, A BIT OF LITERATURE

3.17.2012

Winter came...

Winter came


Arriquibar or Arrikibar Square in Winter


Biscay Square (Plaza Bizkaia)


Indautxu Plaza


From Indautxu Plaza (at the bottom, the Gran via and  the Park, inside the mist)


Indautxu Square, towards Ercilla Street















Indautxu from Arrikibar Plaza


The pouring rain



Don Alonso de Ercilla looks at the city with his metal eyes




Racionalist buildings, as they are called, and round corners are tipical  of  Bilbao



And this is a sort of urban basque stile created long ago mixing classical and traditional elements



The busy streets, wet umbrellas, canopies and awnings



Ercilla Street connects Indautxu to the Gran Via



Behind that Nineteenth Century looking building is Hotel Ercilla 



Dr. Areilza Street. Tiny snow flakes are falling.



Dr. Areilza Street with the Pelli tower sunk in the mist, a shadow at the bottom 



Round squares of buildings in Dr. Areilza Street


Surroundigs of Dr. Areilza. Let's Play.




Stone and concrete grow pale in the mist and the bleak light


Things that keep you going. The inner fire



The Alhondiga Culture Centre from Biscay Square



The Loft (Arrikibar Square, by the Alhondiga)


The inner fire again



Reflections




Works




Snow against the bricks



They look at one another (all those windows...)



Winter tower



Winter roofs



Winter Street


The window

3.10.2012

AlhondigaBilbao, South and West




An Alhóndiga is usually a Corn Exchange, but this one was the city warehouse for wines and spirits. ( See alhondigabilbao.com )

Today, “AlhóndigaBilbao is a public area planned and designed for enjoying leisure time and cultural activities that promote personal development and foster human relationships”


The building stretches through a whole block dividing the Nineteenth Century Expansion Area from it's further growth beyond San Mamés Avenue. It was built in reinforced concrete and using brick, artificial stone and other materials chosen for being cheap and easy to maintain. The architect, Ricardo Bastida, was very young in 1905, when he designed the building taking good care to make the inside totally apt for its purpose and giving the outer walls an attractive and fancy look. The facades are compound of three horizontal elements each. There are towers on all squares and the four external walls have fronts that brake somehow the predominant horizontality.

The wine trade stopped in the 1970s, when a new warehouse was built in Recalde, and the Alhondiga remained empty for years. 

In 2010 it was reopened as a cultural Center. The inner space has been rearranged and designed by Philippe Starck






This is Iparragirre Street. If we could turn to the left, we would see Biscay Square (Plaza Bizkaia)


































We look back for a moment, then we continue our walk.
























This is the southern facade of the Alhondiga. The street is Fernández del Campo.
























At this corner, Fernandez del Campo Street meets Alameda San Mamés (San Mamés Avenue)









We peep back through Iparragirre once more before turning left.















Alameda de San Mamés will lead us to Indautxu Plaza.