Voces del Prado

Head of Works and Maintenance

Pedro Álvarez Moreno, Head of the Area of Works and Maintenance, 1994-2009

I started at the Museum as head of works, which at that time was known as Head of the Department of Works and Maintenance. The job involved what its title suggests: overseeing structural work and maintenance at the Museum. At the time I was offered the job the plans for work to be carried out were really significant: the roof, the extension... I’m an architect and I suppose that that was one of the reasons why they chose me. I was there for sixteen years.
Essentially they sold me the line that the important aspect would be the planned works and it’s true, they were very important, but it’s the day to day that’s the complicated part. The complicated part is the maintenance, which demands a lot of time and attention. So, the job was really the maintenance of the climate control system, the electricity, the carpentry, painting, locksmithing, and so on. And in those days it also covered gardening, with external contracts for the gardening and cleaning. In other words, all these aspects in addition to the work on the roof and the extension, obviously. That was my area of work with the forty maintenance men employed at the Museum.