Fortunately for the GMB. Gehry's stunning building desigh has impressed the local populace as well as attracted considerable international attention. Follwing several months of particularly controversial press in the spring of particularly controversial press in the spring of 1996 the guggenheim wisely offered guided visits to the site. The irnmediate eager response suggests that a long term display of gehyry's design in bilbao might have been helpful from the building takes shape the Basques are increasingly supportive of the project notes Harity The building has also been promoted internationally through presentations in madrid brussels paris New York and venice's 1996 Architecture biennaie in addition Frank Gehry in billbao the museum in the expanded field was opened with great fanfare at the peggy Guggenheim collection during the 1995 venice biennale .