Refik Anadol uses AI to reimagine Frank Gehry designs in Guggenheim Bilbao exhibition

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is set to unveil an installation titled “Living Architecture” by media artist Refik Anadol. Running from March 7 to October 19, 2025, the piece forms the inaugural exhibition of the museum’s new “in situ” series, curated by Lekha Hileman Waitolle.

According to the museum, “Living Architecture” reimagines open-access imagery and archival materials from Frank Gehry’s architectural projects using artificial intelligence. Utilizing a ‘Large Architecture Model’ (LAM) developed by Refik Anadol Studio, the installation transforms Gehry’s designs into “dynamic visual narratives.”

Accompanying Anadol’s visuals is a custom soundscape by Kerim Karaoglu, incorporating recordings of materials sourced from within the museum to heighten the immersive experience. Meanwhile, as part of the museum’s Didaktika project, an educational space in Gallery 204 will provide insights into Anadol’s AI-driven creative process, offering interactive displays and 3D sculptural models to deepen visitors’ engagement.

The latest exhibition is part of the “in situ” series, which aims to showcase ambitious projects by contemporary artists specializing in sculpture, site-specific installations, and multimedia. The series emphasizes works created specifically for the museum's exhibition spaces, enhancing and interacting with the Guggenheim Bilbao's architectural features.

“We are transforming my hero — Frank Gehry’s iconic architecture with 50 channel projectors into Living Architecture,” Anadol said about the exhibition. “With respect and homage to his body of work, our Large Architecture Model, trained on 35 million images of the world’s architecture, will be dreaming of the future of architecture, urban, and future cities during the 6 months of our show in real-time using light and data as a pigment.”

“I do believe Architecture is beyond concrete, steel and glass, and I’m deeply honored to share our work in an incredible museum and grateful to the Guggenheim Bilbao team for making our dream a reality!” Anadol added.

News of the exhibition comes one week after Anadol was among the recipients of TIME Magazine’s TIME100 AI Impact Awards. In September 2021, meanwhile, Archinect interviewed Anadol on his life and career, including his perspectives on data, art, and artificial intelligence. 

“If an architect and artist come together, they can make the invisible flow of data visible,” Anadol told us.