Bizkaia Tower facade

Facade of the Bizkaia Tower. In 2019, the objectives were met 50 years since the construction of the Banco Vizcaya tower in Bilbao, now Torre Bizkaia, one of the tallest buildings in the Basque Country and a symbol of the city's great financial activity during the 20th century. With its 88 metres in height, it marked the beginning of the challenge of vertical architecture in the city in 1969.

The architects, José Enrique Casanueva, Jaime Torres and José María Chapa, won the competition for its design and construction, with a proposal that, in addition to being innovative, recovered the classic treatment of materials, such as the stony appearance of the cast aluminum plates of the facade or the search for elegance with the tinted glassThese elements are the ones that have been most valued 50 years later by the IDOM team, responsible for the comprehensive rehabilitation process that will return it to its original appearance.

The 10,000 square meters of facade They are restored to their original state after their lifespan has expired, thus ensuring the safety of the building. transformation The process has been carried out in a hidden manner, assembling the different elements that make up the curtain wall as they are dismantled: uprights, crossbeams, tinted glass and cast aluminium plates. The recovery of these plates is one of the operations that has been most valued, since the high cost, both economic and environmental, that the production of new pieces entailed, made it advisable to use them separately. recoveryVarious cleaning tests carried out yielded very satisfactory results, with a view to its recovery and adaptation to the new façade system.