I just got back from a shoot in Bilbao and started thinking about this on my flight home.  The structure of this trip was like most others, when I travel and have a day for myself outside of the ‘assignment’, I typically run away from tourist attractions and head for the back alleys and side streets where the locals wine, dine and hang out.  I don’t want McDonalds, I don’t want quick, I want the local cuisine and if they eat it a special way, I want to learn that too.   I try to blend in as much as possible; speak the language (even though I usually fail miserably at this) and I want to capture the sense of place with my lens.  When someone calls me a tourist, they might as well call me a four letter word ‘cause that means I am not blending in enough.  However, this trip was different.  No matter how many tourists flock to the Guggenheim Museum each year, I just couldn’t stay away from it.

So why is it so successful?  For starters, it was designed by Frank Gehry, world renowned for his deconstructivism architecture, which typically goes against the traditional “form follows function” and incorporates his signature radically sculpted, organic contours.  The concept draws from Bilbao’s proximity to the sea and is intended to resemble a ship with brilliantly reflective titanium panels that are designed to look like fish scales.  In practice, “the randomness of the curves are designed to catch the light” says Gehry, and that is exactly what I wanted to capture.

But to me, what is most successful is the big picture.  It is more than a pretty piece of titanium, limestone and glass; it has put Bilbao on the map.  The museum was opened as part of a revitalization effort for the city of Bilbao and for the Basque Country, which has shifted away from its industrial past and the entire city now revolves around it.  This museum is part of a movement.  It is amazing what one building can do for a region, here are a couple images from my ‘tourist’ experience in Bilbao.

I was on my way to Stuttgart for a conference, but instead of doing the sensible thing and flying in directly, I opted to fly into Munich and take a train across the countryside.  Aside from Germany’s world renowned efficiency (hence the train ride), they also are home to a high concentration of well designed, successful urban spaces.  Known by the locals as Stachus square, this one is located in the heart of Munich, and I could people watch here for hours without getting bored.