History of Bilbao paving stones

An icon of Bilbao and Bizkaia, made with iron shavings from Altos Hornos de Vizcaya.

A bit of history

  • In the early 20th century, modernist architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch designed the ‘panot de flor’ or ‘flower of Barcelona’, a paving stone design with a four-petalled flower at the centre created to decorate the carriage courtyard of the Amatller house. Given the enormous popularity of Puig i Cadafalch’s panot de flor, his design was one of the five chosen to pave the streets of Barcelona. Thus, the famous flower became one of the most notable symbols of modernism and of Barcelona.

  • Despite the absence of exact information, it seems that between the 1940s and 1950s, the City Council of Bilbao designed in the workshops of what was then called the Department of Road Management, an adaptation of the ‘flower of Barcelona’ in 20 x 20 cm hydraulic cement floor tiles. Other sources suggest an earlier date, in the 1920s-1930s, when the tiles were made either by Eduardo Sáenz de Venturini or by the La Moderna mosaic factory, with a rosette pattern and four lateral channels to provide proper drainage during rainy weather.

  • This new design indeed covered the needs of the rainy climate characteristic to the area as it gave provided drainage for the pavement: the new tile maintained the four-petalled flower at the centre and also had four little channels to drain the rain off the street. Thanks to this small modification, Bilbao residents could always step on dry pavement.

  • The original tiles were manufactured traditionally with concrete, coarse sand, water and small shavings of iron from Altos Hornos de Vizcaya added to prevent pedestrians from slipping. The tiles are currently made of cement, but they maintain the same design as the original.

  • Over time, this urban symbol has become one of the most representative icons of the city.