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| Source: Bilbao, Desde Dentro's Web, 2015 |
Smartcitymakassar.com. --Makassar- “Cities should offer comfortable places for living with sufficient green spaces, leisure facilities and public facilities that encourage vibrant cultural and quality recreational activities”, said the 1999-2014 Mayor of Bilbao, Iñaki Azkuna.
City of Bilbao
relied its bustling economy on ships and fabrics. In 1980s this bustle subsided. The high oil price and the emergence of
fierce competitors from some Asian countries is the cause. Economic crisis hit the city located at north
of Spain. The city should be
revived. But, to revive the city is not
just about resurrecting its wealth. Beyond that, but also, it needs an identity overhaul. That is what Iñaki Azkuna knew about.
Iñaki Azkuna,
the Mayor, transformed the Bilbao’s competitiveness, its existing identity,
structurally. The structure of its competitive
advantage was shifted from ship industries and fabrics into new cultural and
tourism sector. The transformation
pulsated for the life and sustainability. The significant trigger of this transformation process is the Guggenheim
Museum. The museum was remarkably
success to return the economic beats of the city. The beat was even stronger.
Guggenheim Museum
is one of the innovative and visionary answers. The building marks a transformative icon. Behind the success story, there is a
brilliant combination of work or cooperation between an energetic Mayor with a
Canadian-American architect Frank O. Gehry. The architect re-designed the Guggenheim
Museum imaginatively. After the opening
of this post-rationalist museum, it created significant impacts. Tourists visit to the museum increased, from
700,000 in 2011 to one million in 2012. Three
years after the opening, the museum can cover its renovation construction cost. Iñaki Azkuna changed the City of Bilbao into
one of the world tourism and art centers.
Some
organizations paid important attention to the success of City Bilbao
transformation. These organizations have
great concerns to the future city development and to the mayors’ innovative
breakthroughs. This prize grants for all cities around the world that have
shown their achievements and outstanding contributions to create life, vibrant
and sustainable urban communities. Lee Kuan Yew World City has honored the Lew
Kuan Yew World City Prize for City of Bilbao in 2010.
City Mayors
Foundation, for instance, also granted Iñaki Azkuna the “World Mayor of the
Year 2012” for his outstanding achievements to the city transformation, from
crisis to be as world innovative city reference. The architect, Frank O. Gehry then got
abundant requests form other world cities to design their new icons. The transformative impact of the “titanium
plant”, a call for Guggenheim Museum, has propagated to these cities.
“We do want also
one iconic building”, said all these cities. Abu Dhabi will build a new museum complex called Saadiyat Island; a
combination of Guggenheim Museum and Louvre. In Hongkong there will be a West Kowloon Cultural District as a place
for a Chinese contemporary art museum M+ to answer the Tate Modern in
London. In Mecca, Perth, Tirana in
Albany, and Belo Horizonte in Brazil will also have museums as the cultural
centers. This effect is known as Bilbao
Effect.* (Riad Mustafa)
