Voces del Prado

The great challenges of the expansion project

Rafael Moneo Vallés, Trustee and architect of the Jerónimos extension, 1994-Up to date

The Prado has witnessed a number of expansion projects that have not apparently affected the main façade overlooking the Paseo del Prado. However, in a rather de-structured way, the building has gradually grown behind these different extensions. In effect, the Prado spilled out beyond its original layout. The Prado’s original plan, which was set out very much in accordance with the lay of the land, constituted a longitudinal building with a double entrance: an entrance from the Botanic Gardens; an entrance from what we know today as the Goya Door; and a façade facing the Paseo del Prado. The initial problem with the expansion project was the land available for building. Clearly, the land that ultimately emerged as a potential expansion site consisted of the space occupied by the Cloister of Los Jerónimos. This land would also complete the history of the Prado in its role as a home for the royal collections and the royal collections at the Palace of El Buen Retiro. Any possible colonisation of the land offered by the remains of the former Monastery of Los Jerónimos, the origin of the Palace of El Buen Retiro, would mean occupying this new land and understanding how it might be connected to the new former building. The expansion project thus basically consisted of recovering this “platform wedge” in order to recreate the side where the Villanueva Building was embedded. This expansion would also attenuate the effect of the former extensions that had been carried out behind the façade of the building, an edifice of such high architectural appeal as the Villanueva Building. Recovering this space and integrating it within the urban layout posed the main problem of the expansion project. Then, of course, if you’re referring to specific building problems, in effect these were quite numerous. Part of the construction we see has been raised by incorporating the structural elements of a facilities room that runs parallel to the building and is not seen. The construction close to the Church of Los Jerónimos also led to an excavation that provided some extremely important square meterage for storage rooms, although this also entailed a considerable effort in terms of construction. Structuring and ensuring that the new temporary exhibition rooms would have a shared entrance from what is known today as the Door of Los Jerónimos to the old building and to the new building also required a certain architectural solution, one that would impose an order on all the different elements involved. I regard the expansion of the museum as a contribution based on a certain type of knowledge, which is the know-how provided by the discipline of architecture when it comes to prolonging the life of a building and even incorporating the lives of other buildings such as the Cloister. At present, it is difficult to know whether the Cloister is just another part of the Museum or whether the Cloister is an excuse to be able to organise and re-comprehend what has already been built in a different light. In this respect, I am really happy to have had the opportunity to carry out the expansion project at the Prado … in terms of what it has meant to my life and in terms of what it means to the lives of so many Spaniards. It was, of course, a huge effort. It really entailed a very great effort. I regard the result as a professional contribution rather than an example of personal expression within the field of architecture.