It is not the first time that it is said that in a series the location is one more character, but on few occasions the statement is as true as in ‘The silence’, the new Netflix series starring Arón Piper. The creator Aitor Gabilondo told us in an interview how was the choice of Bilbao and the main location.
‘The Silence’ is a disturbing thriller that follows a young man who is released early for good behavior after serving six years for the murder of his parents. since it comes out, his life becomes a kind of ‘Truman Show’ in which he is being watched and observed at all times from the bathroom of his house to the street and this is how Bilbao is transformed into a great set that Aitor Gabilondo takes advantage of magnificently. And that, according to what he tells us, was a “fortuitous” choice.
The creator explains that I was not convinced with the start of the fiction or with how the death of the parents was raised Sergio (Aron Piper). “In 2022 I went to live in Bilbao and thinking about the start I couldn’t sleep, so I went for a walk and the street was very lonely. I began to look at the buildings and think about throwing his parents out of the window,” he says . that was how arrived at the Uribitarte area where the family home of Sergio’s house and also the control center are located from which they watch Sergio. Two buildings that couldn’t be more different and whose contrast was definitive for the choice. “I looked at that area and it caught my attention that has something like Bostonian, with buildings from very different eras that are very close together. Was like a universe, a kind of theater, great theater and that was inspiring so we changed the boot.” Next, we went over all the locations.
Sergio Ciscar’s house
The residence of the Ciscar family and where the parents of Sergio and Noa die is located in Casa Aburto, which is currently the headquarters of the Bizkaia Bar Association. The building is the work of the architect Enrique Espalza and is protected as an Asset of Cultural Interest for its “eclectic style with modernist influences from the early 20th century.” Its perfectly recognizable façade and balconies take center stage in the scenes in which it appears, which are not exactly few.
In addition to the incredible building, the entire Calle Uribitarte in which it is located is part of that natural setting which gives the series a particular atmosphere. The mix of more classical buildings with more modern ones was what captivated the creator who assures that he saw a certain resemblance to Boston in that part of the city of Bilbao. Besides it comes with a street with a lot of history which is already mentioned since the 17th century due to the numerous floods, as explained on the website Bilbaopedia. To solve it, they sought out the Flemish engineer Juan Bautista de Mena who, to avoid the effects of the water, drew a new channel for the estuary, thus forming the island of Uribitarte, which later disappeared after a new urban project. The area kept the name of Uribitarte which means “between two waters”.
Paseo de los Caños
It is another of the emblematic areas of Bilbao that can be seen in the series. It goes from Achuri to La Peña, along the edge of the estuary and along the slope of Mina del Morro and from which you can see the Miraflores bridge. It owes its name to the fact that the pipes or pipes passed through its subsoil to carry the water of the Ibaizabal river from the Pontón to the pool of the Villa that was located between the Plaza de los Santos Juanes and the street of Ronda.
Portal of Nicolás Alcorta Street
It’s about another key location because it is the portal of the house where Marta lives (Cristina Kovani) the young woman who met Sergio (Arón Piper) while in prison and who keeps in touch with him when he leaves, a situation that psychiatrist Ana Dussel (Almudena Amor) takes advantage of to obtain information from the protagonist and learn more about him. Many of the encounters take place there, not only with Sergio but also with his boyfriend Eneko, who is played by Manu Ríos.
the portal is located in what is known as the area of the towers for the Torres de Zabalburu that are located in it. They are the work of Eugenio Aguinaga Azqueta and Luis Gana and have gone through different moments from the splendor of the 60s to the decline that even led to the hiring of private surveillance by the neighbors in the early 2000s due to crime in the area. The shopping gallery that it houses on the ground floor was one of the first shopping areas of its kind in Spain. Now many of its stores are empty. The project was influenced by the tall constructions that were made in New Yorkas explained in Bilbaopedia. The towers are like a city unto themselves with shops, a large car park and walkways to link the seven towers of the complex. At 81 meters high, it has 25 floors and almost 500 homes. They are located on the site that was previously occupied by the Villa Mena of the Zabálburu family. Its passageways, large staircases and windows give a lot of play to the plot in terms of image.
Suspension bridge or Bizkaia Bridge
On set in Bilbao The bridge could not be missing, the transporter bridge that joins the two banks of the Bilbao estuary. There we can see one of the scenes of Arón Piper’s character, Sergio, with Nathanael, the preacher played by Ramiro Blas and who acts as the young man’s tutor for his reinsertion. Built in 1893, It is the first bridge of its kind in the world.. In fact, only eight similar constructions remain. The construction unites the town of Portugalete with the neighborhood of Las Arenas, which belongs to the municipality of Guecho.
