Laguardia, Spain — LA RIOJA, a breathtaking, mountainous area in northern Spain, produces some of the best wines in Europe. But a part of it -- Rioja Alavesa -- is now producing something else, too: architecture.
Rioja Alavesa is in the country's Basque region, south of Bilbao, the home of Frank Gehry's curvaceous stone, glass and titanium Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.
Gehry's creation helped drive urban renewal in Bilbao, regenerating the city with innovative architecture. Now, it appears the Bilbao Effect has spread south, and several talented architects have designed modern, beautiful hotels as well as wineries, called \o7bodegas\f7 here. An architecture buff, I had gone to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim but found that it just whetted my appetite for more.
My friend Andrew and I set out in August on a winding, picturesque road through mountains and green, grape-covered hills, arriving at Gehry's creation, commissioned by the winery Vinos Herederos del Marques de Riscal in Elciego. The label's winery and vineyards are nearby.
Gehry's facility includes a three-story, 43-room luxury hotel, a restaurant and a spa that offers "vinotherapy," which uses treatments derived from grapes. The views of the undulating hotel from the surrounding hillsides are spectacular. And when the sun glints off the titanium, particularly its burgundy areas, the structure is mesmerizing.
Within a 15-minute drive of Gehry's \o7bodega\f7, however, I saw two other impressive projects, all recently completed. And there are several others nearby. They fan out from the hillside town of Laguardia, a beautifully preserved medieval place surrounded by an ancient wall.
Our second stop was to see the work of another world-famous architect: Spaniard Santiago Calatrava, who designed the wing-like Milwaukee Art Museum addition and is now working on the $2-billion World Trade Center Transportation Hub in New York City.
I had read that Calatrava designed the nearby Ysios Bodega, which opened in 2001. Heading down a hilly road in Laguardia, we saw it in the distance backed by a jagged line of massive golden mountains.
Wave-shaped cedar walls topped with a series of folded aluminum slats reflect the mountains behind them, almost appearing to move in place. The entry hall, with vertical windows supported by thick wood frames, projects from the building like the beak of a bird.
