Heard on The StreetNovember 20, 2019
Reina Sofia Museum will add 22 rooms
The Reina Sofía Museum will begin an important refurbishment, giving new life to 1,200 square meters and 22 new rooms in the lower part of the Sabatini building, a space that was essential in the institution’s early years. The new rooms will be dedicated to its permanent collection.
The refurbishment is expected to be ready in 2021. The design competition was won in 2017 by Juan Pablo Rodríguez Frade and Aurora Herrera Gómez, with a project that will cost 3.1 million euros, half of which will be contributed by the Ministry of Development and the rest will by the museum itself. There is particular interested in disseminating the history of Spanish architecture, which does not have its own museum.
The works are expected to begin next February. The competition report states that the result will be "fundamental to improve the difficult connection between both buildings:" Sabatini (from the end of the 18th century) and the Nouvel extension (which dates from the beginning of the 21st century). In the eighties, this space was used for seminal exhibitions that made waves in Madrid at the time. The space was then "wasted" in workshops, catalogue warehouses, and trade rooms. With this renovation, "an ideal and emblematic space" will be recovered: the façade in the courtyard of the extension.
"With this design, the Nouvel extension will be enhanced because of this new connection with both buildings", explains Javier Pinto, head of Architecture at Reina Sofía. "Until now, both buildings worked in distant ways, but now a strong nexus will be made. So far, the link exists only in the first floor, but not the ground floor. That's why it's an important bet: with a large foyer in the courtyard, we will give a welcoming solution to the public. Our lobby is small and the public has to queue up in the street. By enlarging it we will also gain in comfort," added Pinto.
Rodríguez Frade, an architect specializing in museums—he authored the latest remodeling of Madrid’s National Archaeological Museum—describes the intervention as "simple and intelligent." His goal is to achieve a result that "goes unnoticed." The interior of the new spaces shares the aesthetics of the Sabatini building, while in the vestibule the inspiration will be Nouvel. "We want the public to think that this space has always been there. We made a lot of effort for it to not stand out. Staff circulation will be much more convenient, rational, and friendly. It's a restrained design approach, but very important for the dimensions of the museum," concluded the architect.
The refurbishment is expected to be ready in 2021. The design competition was won in 2017 by Juan Pablo Rodríguez Frade and Aurora Herrera Gómez, with a project that will cost 3.1 million euros, half of which will be contributed by the Ministry of Development and the rest will by the museum itself. There is particular interested in disseminating the history of Spanish architecture, which does not have its own museum.
The works are expected to begin next February. The competition report states that the result will be "fundamental to improve the difficult connection between both buildings:" Sabatini (from the end of the 18th century) and the Nouvel extension (which dates from the beginning of the 21st century). In the eighties, this space was used for seminal exhibitions that made waves in Madrid at the time. The space was then "wasted" in workshops, catalogue warehouses, and trade rooms. With this renovation, "an ideal and emblematic space" will be recovered: the façade in the courtyard of the extension.
"With this design, the Nouvel extension will be enhanced because of this new connection with both buildings", explains Javier Pinto, head of Architecture at Reina Sofía. "Until now, both buildings worked in distant ways, but now a strong nexus will be made. So far, the link exists only in the first floor, but not the ground floor. That's why it's an important bet: with a large foyer in the courtyard, we will give a welcoming solution to the public. Our lobby is small and the public has to queue up in the street. By enlarging it we will also gain in comfort," added Pinto.
Rodríguez Frade, an architect specializing in museums—he authored the latest remodeling of Madrid’s National Archaeological Museum—describes the intervention as "simple and intelligent." His goal is to achieve a result that "goes unnoticed." The interior of the new spaces shares the aesthetics of the Sabatini building, while in the vestibule the inspiration will be Nouvel. "We want the public to think that this space has always been there. We made a lot of effort for it to not stand out. Staff circulation will be much more convenient, rational, and friendly. It's a restrained design approach, but very important for the dimensions of the museum," concluded the architect.
