Norman Foster celebrates his 90th birthday with a "special" visit to his work at the Fine Arts Museum in Bilbao.

Norman Foster visited the renovation works of the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum on Tuesday, which he hopes to open on June 24, 2026. He won the international competition for the project, Agravitas, in 2019 and whose budget has doubled since it was presented by the temporary joint venture (UTE) Foster+Partners LTD.+ LM Uriarte Arkitektura SLP. "Nothing prepares you for reality after outlining the project," Foster said at a press conference inside the complex.

A "special" visit, according to the president of the Biscay Provincial Council, Elixabete Etxanobe, who gave him an umbrella symbolizing the "sun and water" of the Biscayan capital. A wink accompanied by a happy birthday chant from one of the museum's staff, as the most famous and richest architect in the world, according to The Richest magazine, turned 90 a week ago. "Zorionak, Lord Foster," they sang. "In Bilbao, I feel at home," he replied.

The Museum's new image, designed in collaboration with architect Luis María Uriarte, complements the old building, constructed in 1945 (renovated in 1975 and 2001) and which has been in operation since the remodeling began. The latest development has been the placement of the metal structure at the top . Thus, Foster, wearing a hard hat and work vest, visited the completed works on the main structure, which seek to evoke Vizcaya's industrial past through the assembly of 15,000 metal pieces.

At mid-morning, he traveled to the heights, also accompanied by the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan María Aburto; the Minister of Culture and Language Policy, Ibone Bengoetxea; the museum director, Miguel Zugaza; the architect Luis María Uriarte; and the president of the BBK Banking Foundation, Xabier Sagredo, which is partly funding the project and will have a space, the "BBK Museum," inside. With beams and cables visible, Foster addressed the media: "When you see an iceberg, it's just the tip, but what lies beneath is a great project that began six years ago."

At the time, the renovation had a budget of 18.65 million euros. This cost rose over the course of three years to nearly 44.5 million euros due to contingencies such as rising raw material prices. It was in January of last year that the first of the five V-shaped pillars intended to support the "Foster txapela," as the project has become popularly known, was installed due to its positioning on the Old Museum.

Their mission is to support the modernist structure that will appear to levitate above the old building, allowing for the addition of 2,000 square meters of exhibition space. That framework, just over a year later, is complete , having overcome the complexity of working in small spaces given its location in the heart of Bilbao, next to Doña Casilda Park and surrounded by trees. It also has to coordinate with the activity maintained by the adjacent building. "The project is progressing at full speed," said Etxanobe.

Now, before tackling the roof, the workers are focusing on the functional aspects of the facility. Air conditioning, plumbing... both for 'Agravitas' and for the pre-existing museum, where they are updating, for example, the security systems. "We're putting the finishing touches," explains Guillermo Zuaznabar , art curator and head of conservation involved in the project. The project has been halted for three months when the subcontractor that supplied the metal materials went bankrupt, delaying the opening date from this spring to the summer of next year.