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Agravitas is the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum’s expansion and renovation: a new structure by Foster + Partners and LM Uriarte Arkitektura that bridges the museum’s older buildings, adds exhibition and research space, and makes an enclosed plaza a public heart at ground level. The museum announced the design as the winner of its international competition in 2019. Foster + Partners reported that the reopening ceremony took place on 5 October 2026.
What is Agravitas?
Agravitas is the name of the winning proposal for the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum’s expansion and renovation. It connects the museum’s historic fabric—including the 1945 building, the 1970s extension and a later intervention—while adding new facilities. The museum describes the scheme as linking the existing buildings and integrating the Arteder Documentation and Research Centre.
The museum called the international competition on 11 February 2019 and announced the winning proposal on 23 July 2019. The selected team was Foster + Partners with LM Uriarte Arkitektura. The jury’s summary, reproduced by the museum, described the proposal as “Technological in its image, humanistic in its approach and ecological in its sustainability.” That is the jury’s qualitative assessment, not a measured energy-performance result.
How does the addition meet the existing museum?
Foster + Partners says the new addition spans 55 metres above the original buildings, which were left untouched except for restoration. Rather than treating the extension as a separate block, the design uses it to bridge the buildings and reorganize connections through the museum.
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At ground level, the project restores the original 1940s entrance facing the city square and creates an enclosed plaza as a social centre within freely accessible public spaces. Circulation was rationalized to reinstate Plaza Arriaga as a clear public volume, centred on Francisco Durrio’s fountain dedicated to Bilbao-born composer Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga. The project description also emphasizes permeability and direct connection from the Arriaga area.
Above, a daylight-filled atrium includes sculpture by Richard Serra, Pablo Palazuelo and Eduardo Chillida. A large, column-free gallery occupies the top level. These features describe the intended spatial arrangement; they do not, on their own, establish visitor or operational outcomes.
What space and facilities does Agravitas add?
Foster + Partners’ completion announcement describes 2,300 square metres of flexible exhibition area across two levels. The project also includes education, workshop and office facilities. Separately, the museum’s project page describes more than 500 square metres for the Arteder Documentation and Research Centre in the basement of the old building.
The area figures reported by different sources use different scopes and should not be read as interchangeable:
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors| Figure | What it describes | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| 2,300 square metres | Flexible exhibition area on two levels | Foster + Partners, completion announcement, 5 October 2026 |
| More than 500 square metres | Arteder Documentation and Research Centre in the old building’s basement | Bilbao Fine Arts Museum project page, undated |
| 5,000 square metres added; 2,250 square metres renovated | Expansion and renovation areas reported in the government’s project announcement | Basque Government, 16 April 2025 |
The Basque Government said in April 2025 that the project would represent 60 percent growth. That was a forecast in its announcement, alongside its broader added-space and renovation figures; it is not the same measure as the 2,300 square metres of flexible exhibition area identified in the later completion announcement.
When did the museum reopen?
The dates mark different milestones. The Basque Government’s 16 April 2025 announcement forecast a reopening on 24 June 2026. Foster + Partners later reported that the reopening ceremony was held on 5 October 2026. The October date is the later completed-project milestone, not the earlier planned date.
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| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 11 February 2019 | The museum called the international competition. |
| 23 July 2019 | The museum announced Agravitas as the winning proposal. |
| November 2022 | The Basque Government later identified this as the project’s groundbreaking milestone. |
| 16 April 2025 | The Basque Government announced the planned reopening date of 24 June 2026. |
| 5 October 2026 | Foster + Partners reported the reopening ceremony. |
The completion announcement establishes the ceremony date and describes freely accessible ground-level public spaces. It does not establish current opening hours, admission requirements, exhibition schedules or access rules for every part of the museum. Check the museum’s current visitor information for those details.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the project description does—and does not—establish
The project is presented as a way to connect the museum’s different building phases while preserving and restoring the older fabric, improving circulation, and opening public space at ground level. Foster + Partners’ Norman Foster characterized the design as “bridging the past, present, and the future,” with a flexible building intended to respond to changing contemporary art while respecting the site’s history.
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The available project descriptions do not establish visitor counts, economic effects, independently measured environmental performance or other post-occupancy impacts. The jury’s reference to ecological sustainability is an assessment of the proposal, not evidence of a quantified result.
Quick Recap
Sources
- Foster + Partners, “Bilbao Fine Arts Museum completes,” 5 October 2026
- Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, “Agravitas,” official project page
- Basque Government, “El Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao abrirá renovado el 24 de junio de 2026,” 16 April 2025
- Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, “The 1970 building”
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