New-look Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

Article posted by Coliseum, September 13^th, 2023

Image: Real Madrid (YouTube)

The LaLiga club Real Madrid CF has played its first game in the remodeled Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Madrid, Spain, which is nearing completion following a revamp by architecture studios L35, Ribas & Ribas Architects and gmp Architecten.

‘dezeen.com’ stated that the renovated stadium showed the structure with its new wrap-around façade largely complete and its retractable roof in place.

Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club competes in LaLiga, the top tier of Spanish football.

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The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is a football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a current seating capacity of 83,168, it has the second-largest seat capacity in Spain, and it has been the home stadium of Real Madrid since its completion in 1947.

L35 is an international architecture, urbanism and design firm. Founded in 1967, L35’s practice covers a myriad of architectural forms and projects both large and complex, among which are several office buildings and corporate headquarters, residential complexes, large shopping and leisure centers, mixed-use developments, sports stadiums, and urban developments.

Ribas & Ribas Architects is an architecture studio based in Barcelona (Spain) with a 58-years-old experience in the area of Architecture and Urbanism. Founded in Barcelona, almost six decades ago by Josep Ribas González and now headed by the second and third generation of family architects, the firm offers a wide range of work to cover all the possible urbanistic and social needs of every time.

Gmp Architecten is an international architectural company based in Hamburg, Germany. The company was founded in 1965 by Meinhard von Gerkan and Volkwin Marg, and now has more than 300 employees in 13 offices.

‘dezeen.com’ further stated that Real Madrid returned to the stadium to play fellow Spanish team Getafe CF on September 2^nd in the club’s first game since the renovation began. The retractable roof was closed for the game.

Alongside the addition of a retractable roof and a steel façade, the renovation has seen the addition of a terrace surrounding the stadium on top of the stands and a new pitch removal and storage system.

Designed to allow the stadium to be used for large-scale events, the retractable pitch will be housed in six underground levels and will feature an underground irrigation system and ultraviolet lighting to maintain the quality of the grass.

The renovation will also see the stadium’s capacity raised from around 81,000 to 85,000, although only just over 66,000 watched the opening match.

Beginning in 2019, the revamp was designed by Spanish studios L35 and Ribas & Ribas as well as German studio gmp Architecten.

One of the world’s best-known stadiums, the Santiago Bernabéu was originally built in 1947 and designed by architects Manuel Muñoz Monasterio and Luis Alemany Soler. It has seen several additions and renovations since.

L35 and Ribas & Ribas and gmp Architecten aimed to give the stadium a unified appearance with the new louvred steel façade.

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