My first document

BILBAO

Caitin Watkins, Aimee Mcgonnell, Ed

Penny, Patrick Leech, Philip Croker

HIDDEN BARRIERS YEAR 2

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF OLABEAGA

Second years were assigned a specific case study area in Bilbao, namely the Olabeaga neighbourhood.

The case study area contained a specific site (in yellow) where individual architectural proposals had to be located, as well as some essential surrounding context (in red) which helped to illustrate how the site relates to the wider urban area.

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS OF OLABEAGA - ED

The social conditions of the area are reflected in the visual condition of the two neighbouring houses I was tasked with modelling and drawing. The bottom property features bricked up windows, peeling paint and barred windows whereas the next door property is well maintained. This shows that the social conditions are different even amongst neighbours.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

HIDDEN BARRIERS YEAR 2

The environmental conditions of the area are reflected in this map which shows the expected sea level rise by 2050 if the world's emissions stay at its current trajectory.

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

The economic conditions of Olabeaga are highlighted further with the location of a world class football stadium which cost €211 million just two minutes away from the aforementioned run down houses.

HIDDEN BARRIERS YEAR 2

FLOODING AND CLIMATE CHANGE

HIDDEN BARRIERS YEAR 2

FloodingNSB

• The city has recently experienced a lot of climate change especially in recent times due to global warming causing mass amounts of rainfall.

• The realisation that this has caused has taken the city to take further measures by planning for a sustainable future by doing scientific research

• This will help the city prepare for climate change in the coming years to avoid flooding.

HIDDEN BARRIERS YEAR 2

Climate adapt

To help with the flooding to start new housing develops there has been a five step plan which includes

1. Opening the deusto canal- the next part of plan one is to take peninsula and turn it into an island

2. The next part is to then take action in flood prevention by creating a wall.

3. Another thing they can do is raise the ground levels up by at least a meter and a half to then stop water from reaching new buildings- this was a common thing I noticed in our site was a change in ground levels.

4. Adding some green spaces to the new building areas will help with rain fall

5. The final step is to then add some storm water tanks to help with the water intake

Flooding in Bilbao

According to climate adapt the river Nerbioi is predicted by 2050 to flood by 22% meaning the surrounding houses and buildings have a higher chance of floor risk.

HIDDEN BARRIERS YEAR 2

My elevations – Caitin

HIDDEN BARRIERS YEAR 2

History of the area

HIDDEN BARRIERS YEAR 2

History of Olabeaga, Bilbao

• Olabeaga is a neighbourhood within Bilbao, located along an estuary following on from Abando-Ibarra, another area of Bilbao. Olabeaga was originally a merchant and port city primarily for the crews of large ships that were unable to reach the centre of Bilbao upriver.

• In 1876, the Expansion plan split Bilbao between the port and the residential areas. The port stretched from Olabeaga, making use of the established maritime neighbourhood, to Ripa. In 1878, work began to improve the Estuary and the inner port and throughout the decade various works were carried out in order to improve the port.

• Although Olabeaga was fit for its industrial purposes, it lacked space for growth and expansion, whilst having communication and transport issues. In the 1990's, economic restructuring and urban regeneration began, with industrial and port activities being suspended along the estuary in Olabeaga, now focusing on being a mainly residential neighbourhood.

History of Athletic Bilbao and the Basque Conflict

• Athletic Bilbao is a professional football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country of Spain, about two minutes from our site in the Olabeaga neighbourhood in Bilbao.

• Athletic Bilbao has had its controversies throughout its history, mainly being that since 1912, they have had the unofficial/unwritten rule to only sign players either from Basque Country or who learned football at a club within the Basque country. This has even extended into the clubs motto, this being, “With home-grown talent and local support, there’s no need for imports.”

• The reason for Athletic Bilbao's unofficial transfer policy is a result of the years of tension and conflict in the Basque country, with this coming full circle with the Basque Conflict from 1959-2011, an armed, political conflict fought between Spain and a group of social and political Basque organizations, known as the Basque National Liberation Movement, who sought their independence from Spain and France.

• Today, Athletic Bilbao still hold strong to this policy, with only Spanish nationals with roots to the Basque country playing for the team as of 2021, with a majority of the coaching staff also being Spanish nationals. The club play at the San Mamés Stadium, which replaced the former stadium in 2013, ad is only a 2 minute walk from our allocated site in the Olabeaga neighbourhood.

History and Context of the Site

• Within our site and the surrounding street, there are a variety of buildings with different purposes that have been affected to meet the residential needs of the neighbourhood following the suspension of port and industrial activities.

• One of the buildings, situated directly beside our assigned site, was formerly an old coffee factory but has now been converted into SILO, a multifunctional space to allow either companies or individuals a unique and 'blank' space to organize a variety of events such as photo shoots, product presentations, and even weddings.

• In addition to SILO, there are two restaurants, these being La Karola and La Lonja De Olabeaga, with these meeting the needs of the mainly residential community within the Olabeaga neighbourhood. As well as this, behind these restaurants is the home of the Arte Sano Tattoo Supplies, truly displaying the diversity within this small block of buildings, meeting a variety of needs for the neighbourhood.

• In regards to our allocated site, from its aesthetic appearance, it looks like a dilapidated factory, and it has been in this state, even after being somewhat renovated, since at least 2010 as well as the car park to the left of the building, but has remained unused for a considerable time, long before it was somewhat renovated.