Restoration, extension and rehabilitation of the Teatro Real de Madrid (Madrid)

The works to reconvert the Royal Theatre of Madrid into the current Opera House, which ended in 1997, were a cultural contribution with a building that was once one of Europe's most famous and elite. Since it was inaugurated in 1850, after 31 years of intermittent works, the building, throughout is long and outstanding history, has been the object of many renovations, extensions and alterations.

When the reconversion works began in 1991 to transform it into the Opera House, the building had exclusively been used as a concert hall since 1966. The works involved a large-scale renovation in the historic theatre and were entrusted to Huarte (now merged with OHL), which had already carried out rehabilitation works on the building in the 50's, when it tried to restore the damage unfortunately caused by the Spanish Civil War.

The works were executed in three stages. The project and management were entrusted to the architect José Manuel González-Valcárcel, until his unfortunate death in 1992. He was replaced by Francisco Rodríguez Partearroyo, also in charge the modified project of the third stage.

Work began with demolitions, structures and other activity inherent to the first stage. In terms of debris, more than 13,000 truckloads passed through Madrid's old quarter. As a result, a new view was provided of the space and construction conditions, as the entire building was released from its former occupation. The next stages then began after a new study was made of the volumetric, structural and pathological conditions.

First of all, a brand new stage was prepared, significantly larger than the previous one, which affected, in the same way as many other works, the foundations and other structural components. The permanent drainage network under the ground put an end to leaks, which had nearly ruined the Theatre and forced its closure, until 1966, for more than 40 years.

On the outside, a new crest finish was given to the building, columns were installed in Plaza de Isabel II, and the roof was finished off in a curve, to accommodate large air conditioning facilities and hoisting machinery. Cornices, imposts and friezes were reformed, preserving the original material wherever possible, and the outside wall was cleaned.

Inside, apart from the Hall, stage and vestibules, intense and complex works were carried out to recover and create areas in which to accommodate a lot of the Theatre's facilities, including: rehearsal rooms for the orchestra, chorus, ballet and mise-en-scène, a parallel activities room, Café de la Ópera, surrounding walkways or halls, the small distinguished Goya Room, cafeterias for the public and staff, warehouses, workshops, facilities stations, laundry premises, ironing room, dressing rooms and offices. Where necessary, acoustic conditions were particularly cared for, providing very favourable solutions in the opinion of acoustic and musical advisors.

In the Hall, at the heart of the theatre, works were undertaken to improve acoustic and functional issues and to implement a huge number of facilities. Replicas of boxes dating from 1850, the Theatre's heyday, were reproduced and gilded. Also, the huge central lamp was installed and restored on the site itself; the roof's difficult shape was overcome and a depth was reached equivalent to 12 floors in the area under the stage; the necessary space was provided to accommodate the complex machinery for props.

In short, the reconversion works of the Opera House represented a unique and unrepeatable opportunity, enabling the building to recover its functional coherence and providing the city of Madrid with a key component of its past, ready to face a long and fruitful future.