Extension of the Reina Sofía Museum

Jean Nouvel – Extension of the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, 2005

“…….I propose a gentle and natural intervention. The museum takes under its wing a triangular block to the west, three or four existing buildings and several trees: even if these buildings are replaced, the replacements remain approximately in the same place. The relationship with the neighboring architecture is not substantially changed;

Of the pre-existing buildings, two walls are symbolically preserved, not for their beauty, but rather to affirm the sense of transformation. Significant trees are also maintained. The three new mutant buildings are organized around a courtyard. Each has a dominant program. The first, to the south, is a library; the second to the west is for meetings: the auditorium, the protocol room, the bar and the restaurant; the third, to the north, is for temporary exhibitions and the only one with a direct connection to the museum. Each building opens onto terraces, some public, others for employees. The library captures light and shadow from above with suspended domed skylights.

The auditorium and meeting rooms are unique in their shape, inherited from theatre typologies: a taut-skinned jewel box, with curved corners, surrounded by atrium terraces…..”
Jean Nouvel