Foster faces legal challenge over Bilboa museum plans

A legal challenge has been launched against Norman Foster’s plans to revamp the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao, Spain. Critics allege that the competition to find an architect for the scheme, which invited studios around the world to “write a new chapter in the life of the institution”, was in effect rigged and that the original terms of the competition had been violated. Foster won the contract with a makeover called Agravitas, which critics claim is disproportionate to the existing building and ruins the parkland in which it is set. The new-look museum will gain a “weightless” platform, supported by slender columns, crowning the building as if it were a txapela – Basque for beret. The panel of 10 judges – only four of whom were architects – included a member of the Norman Foster Foundation in Madrid and an architect who has worked with it. The competition ruled that submitted projects must not exceed a budget of €18m, yet since the winner was announced its cost has doubled before the major works have begun. The Times (£)