Expansion of the Prado Museum
Madrid, Spain
22,040 m²
Built area
3
Number of plants
Museum
Building type
The Prado Museum Expansion, designed by architect Rafael Moneo, enhanced one of the world’s leading art museums through the creation of new exhibition areas, conservation facilities and visitor services.
It is structured around two distinct areas: a new, elevated building adjacent to the Jerónimos Church and a connecting section linking it to the original Villanueva building.
The first building is organized around the Jerónimos Monastery cloister; the cloister was dismantled and reassembled stone by stone to allow for the excavation of three underground levels housing painting and sculpture storage, temporary exhibition galleries, restoration workshops, and a library.
The cloister is encased in an outer concrete shell and topped with skylights, transforming the space into a massive lantern. The connecting section links the new foyer to the old museum via the Hall of the Muses—formerly the assembly hall. This section extends beneath Ruiz Alarcón Street toward the cloister, with the new 500-seat auditorium situated to one side. Its roof is a landscaped platform featuring rows of boxwood hedges, evocative of Enlightenment-era gardens.
Project data
Project data
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Designed by Rafael Moneo
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Restoration of a 16th-century Renaissance cloister
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Three underground levels beneath the cloister
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Excavation depth of up to 20 m
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Top-down construction methodology
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New underground connection beneath Ruiz Alarcón Street
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1,250 m² of temporary exhibition space
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500-seat auditorium
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