The Isozaki Atea () twin towers in

Bilbao Bilbao is a city in northern Spain, the largest city in the Provinces of Spain, province of Biscay and in the Basque Country (greater region), Basque Country as a whole. It is also the largest city proper in northern Spain. Bilbao is the List o ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

are the tallest residential buildings in the city and the Basque Country, designed by Japanese architect

Arata Isozaki Arata Isozaki (磯崎新, ''Isozaki Arata''; 23 July 1931 – 28 December 2022) was a Japanese architect, urban designer, and theorist from Ōita, Ōita, Ōita. He was awarded the Royal Gold Medal in 1986 and the Pritzker Architecture Prize i ...

. The towers are tall and have 23

floor A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from wikt:hovel, simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the ex ...

s. The first two floors are used for mixed-commercial purposes, and the remaining floors are residential. The towers are part of a five-building complex. The other three buildings' heights range between six and eight floors. "Atea" means "gate" in

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

; the complex is intended as the entrance to the '' Ensanche'' of the city from the other side of the

Nervión Nervión (; ) is a river that runs through the town of Bilbao, Spain into the Cantabrian Sea (Bay of Biscay). Its lowermost course, downstream of its confluence with the Ibaizabal River, is known as the Estuary of Bilbao. Geography The riv ...

river as a footway directly connects the staircase between the two towers to the Zubizuri footbridge. The staircase leads to Ercilla Street.

External links

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"Isozaki Atea"
on ''Architecture News Plus'' Buildings and structures in Bilbao Twin towers Skyscrapers in Bilbao Residential skyscrapers in Spain Estuary of Bilbao {{Spain-struct-stub