Spanish construction company FCC has won the competition to transform Real Madrid's 70-year-old Estadio Santiago Bernabéu into what the club's president, Florentino Pérez, has called a "digital stadium of the future". FCC, which is owned by Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, is expected to begin work on the facility immediately, with an anticipated completion date of August 2022. According to Cinco Dias, the contract is worth €475m (US$529.5m, £408.6m). The expanded

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has revealed that work on a €400m (US$429.5, £344.7m) redevelopment of its Santiago Bernabéu stadium will "begin soon". Designed by a team of architects – which includes L35, Ribas & Ribas and GMP Architekten – the renovation will increase the venue's capacity by more than 5,000, to around 90,000. There will also be improvements to fan experience, the technology infrastructure and broadcasting facilities, as well

Self-proclaimed “designer of whimsy” Henry Chebaane has completed the guest rooms and public areas of the new Hyatt Centric Gran Via hotel in Madrid, taking inspiration from Spanish surrealism and the history of radio. Tasked with converting the partially-listed spaces behind the historic facade of a 1920s-era building on the upscale Gran Via shopping street, Chebaane and his studio – Blue Sky Hospitality – looked to the cultural life of

Real Madrid football club has announced plans to create an interactive football experience centre as part of a major development in Zhuhai, China. Business conglomerate the Lai Sun Group is behind the development – an integrated tourism and entertainment project called Novotown – which will, in its second phase, feature the world-first Real Madrid experience. Utilising advanced technologies, entertainment elements and football, visitors will be able to experience a number

The striking new home for Spanish football side Atletico Madrid is ready to host its first match, with construction finally completed on the 68,000 capacity Wanda Metropolitano stadium. The club has invested a reported €300m on the new ground – which replaces the Vicente Calderon Stadium, its home of over 50 years – in order to propel them to the sport’s elite level. Spanish architecture practice Cruz y Ortiz were

Spanish architect Alberto Campo Baeza has completed a semi-transparent sports hall for a university in Madrid. Designed for the campus of the Francisco de Vitoria University in the Pozuelo municipality, the white steel and concrete facility is formed of two well-defined boxes, connected by a low-rise building whose roof becomes an inter-connecting patio. Sports halls, multi-purpose event spaces, a gymnasium, a swimming pool and physiotherapy rooms all feature, with the

Redevelopment of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, the iconic home of Spanish football club Real Madrid, looks set to begin in the summer. Tristan Lopez Chicheri, managing partner at architecture firm L35, which is working on the €400m (US$429.5, £344.7m) project, confirmed the timescale in an interview with Spanish sports newspaper Marca. He revealed work will take place during off-season periods to reduce disruption to the club’s sporting schedule, with the

Madrid’s historic Hall of Realms will be refurbished and transformed into an important art exhibition space by architects Foster + Partners and Rubio Arquitectura, after the pair were named winners of an international competition for the project. The space will form an expansion to the city’s Museo del Prado campus; Spain’s main national art museum. The Hall of Realms building was part of the 17th century Royal Buen Retiro Palace

Spanish football giant Real Madrid has agreed a deal with the local council to redevelop its Santiago Bernabeu stadium, and the surrounding area. The La Liga club’s president Florentino Perez made the announcement alongside mayor of Madrid Manuela Carmena, delegate of sustainable urban development Jose Manuel Calvo and council president of Madrid’s Chamartin district Mauricio Valiente. Last December, Calvo’s department blocked the €440m (£398.4m, US$486.8m) development proposal in “the interests

A senior executive at Spanish football club Atletico Madrid has lifted the lid on progress being made on its new 66,000-capacity stadium, which will include a fanzone, museum and videomapping facade. Javier Martinez, the club’s managing director, global business development, said he wanted the stadium to be among the “top five experiences” in terms of football stadiums in Europe. He gave delegates at the Soccerex Global Convention in Manchester a

Eight architecture studios have reached the final stage of the international competition to create a new exhibition hall for the Museo del Prado in Madrid; Spain’s national art museum. The new gallery, which will showcase artworks that explore Spanish history, will be housed in the Hall of Realms. The building once formed part of the Royal Buen Retiro Palace and was formerly used as an Army Museum, before it was

by Kim Megson | 15 Feb 2016

City planners in Madrid are responding to the challenge of climate change by covering the Spanish capital’s unused spaces in plants and greenery. According to reports in Spain, the local government has given the green light for 22 vacant areas to be transformed into urban gardens and for a million-dollar investment to plant trees along the banks of the Manzanares River. The projects – which follow a decision in 2014

by Matthew Campelli | 17 Dec 2015

Real Madrid’s plan to redevelop its Santiago Bernabeu stadium has encountered a new setback after the city council rejected it in the interest of the public. The €440m (US$477.9m, £320.7m) development proposal – which includes the installation of a retractable roof, increasing the capacity to 90,000 and building a hotel, shopping centre and underground car park – will only be accepted if the council believes the interest of local citizens

by Matthew Campelli | 07 Dec 2015

The stadium being built for Spanish football club Atletico Madrid appears to be on track after doubts were cast over its viability by local councillors. The stadium, which is located in the east of Madrid, was designed by Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos. Atletico posted a photograph of the semi-constructed stadium to its 1.1m Instagram followers last week (3 December). The picture, titled ‘New stadium’, shows the hollowed-out part of the