Mansilla + Tuñón Arquitectos . photos: © Luis Asín . + archdaily
From an urban perspective, the project is based on two fundamental principles: on the one hand, the Royal Collection museum should be part of the natural-artificial landscape of Madrid’s western edge, and on the other, it is necessary to maintain the open, public nature of La Almunena and preserve views of the parks and gardens beneath the western lip of the city. The Museum, in its linear structure as an inhabited containment wall, tries to reduce the objective (physical and subjective (collective subconscious) environmental impact on the monumental plinth of the Royal Palace.
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We try to produce a building that is invisible from La Almudena Square by occupying a buried space that is yet to exist. The Royal Collection Museum contains the plinth of the Royal Palace, constructing a linear space that follows the lines of the Palace itself. A simple, compact building, a construction that is aware that maximum flexibility and potential is only possible within a strict order, which uses the materials of the Royal Palace and its dignified construction as a feature, with a modern layout, heavy yet light, opaque yet transparent.
The three exhibition levels, equal yet different, hold three differentiated collections: first: tapestries, second: paintings, sculptures and various items and third: carriages. Each space is organised like a warehouse measuring one hundred and fifty by twenty metres, flanked by the remains of the Arab wall to the east and a monumental lattice composed of massive granite pillars open to the west above the Campo del Moro Royal Gardens.
The views across the gardens are the space between the structures, just as the pillars are matter between voids. The space is the rhythm of the beams, and the installations are the interface between what holds the building up. Structure, illumination, views, space, and infrastructure all have blurred edges and exchanged attributes.
The Royal Collections Museum is a plinth for the Palace from the outside; a frame for views of the gardens and the interior features. The most important part already exists; our job is to make it visible.
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Emplazamiento: Palacio Real, Madrid, España. Arquitectos: Luis M. Mansilla, Emilio Tuñón. Cliente: Patrimonio Nacional. Colaboradores: Carlos Brage, Rubén Arend, Andrés Regueiro, Clara Moneo, Teresa Cruz, Bárbara Silva, Jaime Gimeno, Stefania Previati, David Nadal, Oscar F. Aguayo, Carlos Martinez de Albornoz, Asa Nakano, Coco Castillón, Javier González Galán, Mila Moskalenko, Matilde Peralta. Empresas consultoras: J.G. Asociados, Alfonso Redondo Gómez. Asistencia técnica: INTEMAC (Roberto Barrios I.C.C. y P.). Dirección de obra: Luis M. Mansilla, Emilio Tuñón. Arquitectos Técnicos: Santiago Hernán, Luis Baena. Fecha de concurso: 1999,2002. Fecha de proyecto: 2003. Fecha de inicio de las obras: 2006. Fecha fin de las obras: 2015. Superficie construida: 50.000 m². Empresa constructora: FCC S.A. y Dragados. Fotografías: Luis Asín.
PREMIOS. Primer premio concurso internacional (2002). Premio BEAU de Patrimonio y Transformación (2016). Premio BIAU a obra (2016).
Desde el punto de vista urbano, el Museo de Colecciones Reales se basa en dos principios elementales: Por un lado, el museo forma parte del paisaje natural-artificial de la cornisa poniente de Madrid, y por otro, la nueva construcción preserva el carácter público y abierto de la plaza de la Almudena. El Museo de Colecciones Reales amplía el basamento del Palacio Real, construyendo un espacio lineal que sigue las trazas del propio palacio. Los tres niveles de exposición albergan tres colecciones diferenciadas: tapices, pintura y carruajes. Cada una de estas salas de exposición se organiza como una nave de ciento veinte metros de longitud y dieciséis metros de ancho.
