“As it yaws into view from the window of your incoming jet, the new Bilbao airport looks like a giant bird or plane that has made it to the ground shortly ahead of you. Perched on a virgin hillside site, untainted by the usual miasma of support buildings, Santiago Calatrava’s operatic design, known locally as la paloma (the dove), is as precious as it is special. It has been designed – unlike, say, Heathrow or Gatwick, which have grown as if organically – as a gateway to the Basque capital, which in recent years has become a showcase for show-off contemporary architecture.” – The Guardian