Zaha Hadid to Turn Bilbao Peninsula into Island

BILBAO, Spain—Bilbao, which opened its famed, Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim museum ten years ago, is getting ready to launch another high-profile architectural project, a radical design by Zaha Hadid that could become another "important symbol of the city's turnaround," the Guardian reports. Hadid's labor-intensive plans for redeveloping the city's neglected Zorrozaurre peninsula call for cutting off the peninsula from the mainland and reconnecting the newly formed island to the city via eight bridges. The island will comprise 180 acres with 6,000 new houses, two technology centers, and a 10-acre park."This is about more than just the image," said Julia Madrazo, deputy mayor of Bilbao and regional minister for town planning and the environment. "It is about creating a city to live in. We all have dreams of how a city could be, and I believe this is the closest thing to those dreams."

The project is expected to be complete between 2025 and 2030.