Zaha Hadid’s radical plans for Bilbao

British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid has released a project that will continue to develop Bilbao, in Spain’s northern Basque region.

Her project will focus on the redevelopment of the neglected Zorrozaurre peninsula, which she plans to turn into an island. Currently there are only a few small industries left with 450 people living in the area.

Hadid plans to cut off the land that joins it to the mainland and then reconnect the newly formed island to Bilbao via eight bridges. The evelopment will occupy 72 ha (180 acres) with 6000 houses, two technology centres and a 4 ha (10 acre) park.

The houses will be 4.7 m above sea level to prevent flooding and a canal will join the river Nervión, widening the riverbed to 75 m. Another feature of the project will be low-cost housing and a quarter of the land has been given to parks and recreation.

The Basque regional government has estimated a total cost of £987m (€1.43bn), with work expected to start in 2010, with a finish date between 2025-2030.