Surbisa (a City Hall-owned company dedicated to promoting urban renovation of residential buildings within Bilbao) has published an analysis of the renovation works carried out on housing in Zorrotzaurre. Of the original 47 residential buildings in Zorrotzaurre, 42 were considered apt for renovation. Currently, 17 buildings have terminated the renovation works, 8 have scaffolding in position and 10 more are at the project design or administrative approval stages. Only 7 buildings have not started the renovation process. Many of the buildings are over 100 years old, have undergone no or minimal maintenance over the decades and the renovations have consequently,…

The Bilbao City Council has decided to allow a further three months for the execution of the works to open up the Deusto canal and the construction of the Frank Gehry bridge. The contract awarded to the consortium formed by Exbasa, Viuda de Sáinz, Balzola and Urssa established a period of 16 months for the carrying out of the works. Given that the works commenced in May, finalisation had been set for September of next year. After the municipal agreement indicated, the new date for finalisation is December 2015.

The architect Frank O. Gehry, at a ceremony presided over by Ibon Areso, the Mayor of Bilbao, laid the first stone of the Deusto-Zorrotzaurre bridge which is to be named after him in fulfilment of an express wish of the former Mayor, Iñaki Azkuna. With this ceremony, construction has started on the bridge designed by the civil engineers, Guillermo Capellán and HéctorBeade (of the engineering firm Arenas & Asociados) to join Deusto from opposite the site of the IMQ Hospital with the island. The bridge will be 75 metres long and have an average width of 28 metres. The bridge…