On Wednesday, November 1, MAS Context and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. This event was a unique opportunity to learn first hand about the making of one of the most important buildings of the end of the twentieth century. The event is part of MAS Context’s 2017 Fall Talks series and it took place at the offices of SOM in Chicago (224 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60604).
20 Years of the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum
Designed by Frank O. Gehry & Associates, the Guggenheim Museum was a feat of design and construction. The use of digital modeling, including the now famous CATIA, and other innovations opened the door to a new generation of architecture that defined in the beginnings of the twenty-first century. The Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) served as the structural engineer for the building with Bilbao-based IDOM as the local engineer. It was a unique collaboration that proved to be a major success.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of its opening, John Zils, Associate Partner Emeritus at SOM, discussed the work of SOM in the project while Bill Baker, Structural and Civil Engineering Partner at SOM, discussed the Guggenheim Museum in relationship to the engineering work that has been developed in the office in the last two decades.
Iker Gil, editor in chief of MAS Context, kicked off the event by providing an overview of the transformation of the city of Bilbao, from the challenges it was facing to the situation 20 years after the opening of the museum.
The transformation of Bilbao was documented in the issue 30-31 of MAS Context. Among the contributions, the issue features an interview with John Zils. You can read the issue here: www.mascontext.com/30-31-bilbao
The exhibition SOM: Engineering x [Art + Architecture], currently on display in Chicago and presented with Mana Contemporary Chicago in partnership with the Chicago Architecture Biennial, reveals the concepts and forms that stem from SOM’s integrated practice of engineering, art, and architecture. For more information, please visit: 