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BERNABÉAUTIFUL A team consisting of GMP, L35 and Ribas&Ribas has been chosen by Real Madrid Football Club to convert the mythical Santiago Bernabéu Stadium into the new architectural icon of Madrid and a worldwide sporting landmark. The remodelling will give the Santiago Bérnabeu a truly avant-garde design: a new outer skin made of metallic strips of changing curvatures and LEDs and a retractable roof will represent a radical change to its outward appearance. Although the new envelope is shaped freely, its geometry is not accidental. The curved volumes are able to reflect light in a changing way, its marked lines expressing energy and drive. While visually dominating its surroundings, the stadium volume is adapted to the program behind it, swelling or shrinking without losing unity or character.
The ventilated cladding material is designed to allow or to block sunlight through its changing pattern. The skin geometry is line-based, which allows a building process that -despite its high-tech component- is relatively simple and allows for large sections to be shop-assembled. From the structural point of view, the new roof is designed with elegance and efficiency. A compression beam rests neatly on the existing concrete columns. Supported on this outer ring, the inner ring is supported on stressed cables. The whole roof is mounted on the pitch and lifted into position. The project also includes the construction of a hotel with views of the pitch, a shopping and leisure centre, an underground car park in the Paseo de la Castellana and new public spaces in the surrounding areas.
Energy efficiency, integration with the surroundings and new technology are the principles upon which the design team based their innovative proposal. “We feel incredibly proud to have met this challenge and we are convinced that the new image of the Bernabéu will stick in people’s memories,” assures Tristán López-Chicheri, managing partner at L35. Volkwin Marg, founder and owner of GMP Arquitectos, stated: “We have had the honour of participating in the construction of 20 stadiums, but this is the most important project of our career. The design reflects the value of the legendary club that is Real Madrid”. www.gmp-architekten.com www.l35.com www.ribas-arquitectos.com