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The image shows an exterior view of the Euskalduna Palace at dusk, located on the banks of the Bilbao estuary. The building’s large volumes and ...

Euskalduna Palace

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Description

Euskalduna Jauregia - Palacio Euskalduna S.A. is a public company owned by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia. Designed by Federico Soriano and Dolores Palacios, as a constantly evolving ship that emerges from the dock where the Euskalduna Shipyard once stood, the Palace was awarded the Enric Miralles Prize in the 2001 VI Spanish Architecture Biennial. It is a large multifunctional complex of 58,200 square meters, located in the center of Bilbao and very close to the international airport.

It hosts numerous activities of an economic-business, academic, political, institutional, social and cultural nature. The ABAO Opera Season, one of the most important and prestigious in Spain and Europe, takes place here, and it is also the home of the Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa (BOS), a magnificent musical institution founded in 1920, which gave its first concert in 1922. The building combines spaces dedicated to meeting and performance activities (Auditorium, congress and meeting rooms, boardrooms, offices, foyers, and a splendid Exhibition Hall) with service areas for storage, dressing rooms, rehearsal rooms, etc.

Euskalduna Palace features wide, clearly signposted access routes and interior circulation areas, with eight lifts distributed throughout the building, as well as a dedicated lift connecting the main entrance to the extension area. All floors have adapted toilets for people with reduced mobility, in addition to accessible cubicles within the general restrooms. The main auditorium and four rooms with fixed seating offer reserved spaces for wheelchair users, while in rooms with movable seating the allocation depends on the event organiser; all venues provide XL-sized seats for people with special needs. As layouts may vary depending on the event, visitors are advised to contact the Palace in advance to confirm accessibility conditions and available support services.

Features and services

Accessibility policy

Is there an accessibility certificate?
Yes
What certificate?
AENOR UNE 170001 de Accesibilidad.
Observations

Euskalduna Jauregia has permanently contracted the services of a company -CEIS- that provides advice on accessibility matters.

Specialized support for people with functional diversity

Has staff received specific training in dealing with people with functional diversity?
Yes
Which courses?
Customer service courses for people with special needs.
Is this staff easy to identify?
No

Communicationo adaptation

Is an internet point with a Jaws voice system available?
No
Are magnetic loop systems available?
Yes
Is information available regarding facilities and services in Braille?
No
Observations

External sign language interpreter service.

Personal Assistance and lending of technical aids

There is a service for lending technical mobility aids
Yes
Required personal assistance services are available
Yes
Are assistance dogs/guide dogs allowed?
Yes

Environment accessibility

Is the establishment in a location with significant urban barriers or where there are problems to get access to motor vehicles?
Yes
Can the establishment be accessed with a motorised vehicle?
Yes

Public transport

Availability of public transport
Yes
Type of transport
  • Bus
    • Line: Bilbobus: Líneas 28, 56, 62.
    • Distance: 150 m
  • Tramway
    • Station: Euskalduna
    • Distance: 20 m
  • Underground
    • Line: San Mamés
    • Station: 1
    • Distance: 400 mm

Parking

Parking available inside
Yes

  • Location / Address
    Avenida Abandoibarra 4
    Are there any appropriately marked reserved spaces?
    Yes
    Number of spaces
    16
    Difficulty of access and mobility inside
    No

Locker

Is part of this 0.70 - 0.85 m high?
Yes
How high are the lockers?
0,80 m
Observations

It features an auditory magnetic loop.

Vertical mobility

  • Does it have at least one lift?
    Yes
    Is access available to all floors?
    Yes
    Automatic opening
    Yes
    Exit and entry at ground level with no height differences
    Yes
    Depth > 1.40 m
    Yes
    Door width
    ≥ 0,90 m
    Area outside the cabin with the possibility of turning 1.50 m
    No
    Keypad at 1 - 1.30 m
    Yes
    Acoustic floor signage
    No
    Accessible alarm systems
    Yes
    Automatic control and closing systems
    Yes
    Are there any other elevators?
    Yes
Observations

Basically, the main building has eight elevators located in different areas, three of which have 0.90m wide doors and the rest 0.80m wide. The general characteristics of all of them are identical except for this one. From the ticket office, there is access to different areas of the Palace via two elevators with 0.80m wide doors. To access the Palace extension, it is necessary to use an elevator that connects from the street level of the main entrance to level 0. Its door is 0.90m wide and the shaft depth is 1.40m.

WC

There is at least 1 service that can be considered as PRM accessible
Yes
Access door
width of 0.80 - 0.89 m
Outward opening sliding or swing door
Yes
You can make a 1.50 m circle inside
Yes
Washbasin without a base. 0.80M high
Yes
Adjustable height washbasin
No
Single lever or push button tap
Yes
Toilet height of 0.40 - 0.50 m
Yes
Support rails in the restroom
Yes
Two bars. At least one is folding
Yes
Distress call system
Yes
Call system in the entire WC
No
Free front space of 0.80 x 1.20 m for all toilets
Yes
Observations

On each floor there is at least one specific restroom for people with reduced mobility. Also on each floor there are wc with cubicles adapted for PRM. The door widths are 0.80 m. In the Palace extension, the wc have access doors of 0.90 m.

Observations

Other aspects of interest

The Palace houses a central auditorium with a capacity of 2,164 spectators and 16 halls with varying capacities ranging from 613 to 10. In the auditorium and in four halls with fixed seating (0B, 0C, 0D, and 0E), there are seats reserved for people with reduced mobility (PRM). In the remaining halls, which are adaptable spaces with movable seating, the promoter determines the number of seats reserved for PRM. Both in the auditorium and in the other halls, extra-large seats are available for users with special needs.

Location