Bilbao Fine Arts Museum unveils 45-million-euro Agravitas expansion by Norman Foster

The Agravitas architectural concept

The Bilbao Fine Arts Museum revealed its new architectural addition on Friday following four years of construction work. Named Agravitas, the project was designed by British architect Norman Foster in collaboration with Basque architect Luis Maria Uriarte. The project cost between 45 million and 46 million euros, financed jointly by the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, the Bilbao City Council, and a loan from Kutxabank. The structure adds over 6,000 square meters of space, expanding the museum's previous surface area by 60%. It hovers above two earlier structures: the original 1945 building designed by Gonzalo Cardenas and Fernando Urrutia, and a 1970 modernist extension by Alvaro Libano and Ricardo Beascoa.

Agravitas is the name given by Norman Foster and Luis Maria Uriarte to the project, so that the extension of the museum rises into the sky, weightless.

Layout and key features of the addition

The new volume rests on V-shaped steel pillars that span the existing complex without resting directly on the older roofs. At the center sits the covered Atrio Arriaga, illuminated from above by a six-meter-wide circular oculus. The atrium integrates Francisco Durrio's 1933 monument to composer Juan Crisostomo de Arriaga, featuring the muse Euterpe above a fountain basin. Large-scale sculptures by Richard Serra and Eduardo Chillida occupy the ground-level space alongside works by Cristina Iglesias and Pablo Palazuelo. On upper levels, the expansion incorporates two new gallery floors covering 5,000 square meters, while Foster contributed two sculptures by Anthony Caro and one by Anselm Kiefer for the outdoor terraces facing Dona Casilda park.

Reopening schedule and ticketing

The museum holds its official inauguration on Monday, 5 October 2026, coinciding with the 118th anniversary of the institution. Public access begins on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, through a free-admission open-doors week running until 13 October. Beginning 14 October 2026, visitors can purchase a 14-euro joint ticket valid for four days that grants admission to both the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum and the nearby Guggenheim Museum. Director Miguel Zugaza returned to lead the Bilbao institution in 2017 after directing the Prado Museum in Madrid. The museum collection remains heavily shaped by patronage, with approximately 70% of its holdings originating from private donations and bequests.

Tribute exhibition to Placido Arango

Alongside the architectural reopening, the museum launched an exhibition titled The Search for the Beginning, honoring the late Mexican businessman and collector Placido Arango. The presentation opened in the presence of Arango's daughter Maite Arango, Basque culture minister Ibone Bengoetxea, and Bilbao Mayor Juan Mari Aburto. Over the next four years, the tribute will display more than 100 rotating works from Arango's collection across the older galleries, paired with loans from international institutions including a Velazquez from the Hispanic Society. Arango, who died in 2020, contributed a donation of 100 works to the institution scheduled through 2030. The inaugural display is housed in the expanded BBKmuseoa space.

It is a huge emotion to present at such a special time for the museum this recognition of our father and his journey as a collector, but also the passion for art of so many people and institutions that shared that hobby with him.