The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is now recognized as a symbol of Madrid, Spain. Home to the Real Madrid football team, the stadium built in 1947 occupies a key position in the city, adjacent to a major transit artery. The stadium went through several refurbishments since its inauguration, most aimed at increasing the seating capacity. A major modernization process began in 2012, following an international competition. The winning design team is L35 Architects, in collaboration with GMP and Ribas & Ribas. The refurbishment project aimed to redefine the building’s relationship with the surrounding urban spaces, to improve accessibility, and to integrate more activities, from sporting to leisure, commercial, and socio-cultural functions.
To introduce this mixed-use program, L35 Architects continued their research and expertise in the diversification of stadium functions, as exemplified in the renovation of the Simón Bolívar Stadium in La Paz or the Campín Sports-Cultural complex in Bogotá. The main objective of the project was to create a new main entrance for the public to reinforce the stadium’s relationship with the city. On the Castellana side, east facade, the plaza was leveled in order to accommodate this. The architectural solution aims to create a recognizable point of reference and a grand lobby for the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
The west façade is reimagined in connection to a new plaza, acting as an antechamber to the main access. Vehicle access is organized in this area, camouflaged through vegetation and landscaping. In addition to the new functions, the operational structure of the stadium is improved, with a logistics tunnel added between the existing foundations. This allows for more efficient operational servicing of the entire stadium without interfering with its regular functioning on match days.
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From White Elephants to Sustainable Venues: The Evolving Story of Olympic ArchitectureThe facades have also undergone an extensive remodeling. A new flexible cladding system has been designed for the stadium with the intention of readjusting the building’s image to the city scale. The new envelope's geometry features curved surfaces that reflect light dynamically, creating a fluid perception at the pedestrian level. The stadium’s volume adjusts with street perspectives, ensuring it visually dominates and organizes its environment. The envelope adapts to the program's needs, expanding or receding while maintaining unity. The cladding acts as a permeable steel skin with openings for light and air, ensuring natural ventilation. The reflective steel and curves dematerialize the façade, reducing its apparent volume and enhancing integration with its setting.
The decision for an asymmetrical and fluid geometry on the façade was taken early, carefully thought through. We kept reworking it to meet the objectives we wanted to achieve. Together with Ernesto Klingenberg we drew a number of sketches, searching for an external envelope that would reflect the spirit of sports and one that would not be static: a dynamic facade. A façade that would change as the passerby moved around the stadium. These sketches became the genesis for the idea of the New Santiago Bernabéu,” recounts Tristán López - Chicheri, CEO and senior partner of L35 Architects
A city’s sporting infrastructure often provides some of its most representative landmarks, but poor integration can easily transform these structures into difficult-to-use white elephants. To avoid this, stadiums are sporting venues often go through extensive renovation processes to ensure their long-term viability. On some occasions, however, renovations are deemed too difficult and the structures are proposed for demolition and replacement. One such example is Milan’s iconic Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, also known as San Siro, or the Ahmedabad's iconic Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, designed by Charles Correa.
