Valladolid, Spain

National Museum San Gregorio School Extension

The former San Gregorio College is one of the most outstanding buildings in Valladolid, representative of the characteristic late Gothic style in Spain from the end of the 15th century. The traces left by a series of operations over time are a reflection of the actual life of the building. Far from being frozen in a given period, it has adapted, with differing degrees of success, to the most diverse range of uses- school, prison, government offices and museum- and to the evolution of construction methods and facilities.

Its present state cannot be summarised in a single description. Multiplicity and non-unity are the reality of the diverse San Gregorio group of buildings. The basic issue of how to tackle the renovation and extensions to the National Sculpture Museum should not be approached in a generic way but rather by specifically focusing on each individual area and circumstance.

Fortunately, in spite of the numerous partial modifications, the building has maintained a fully recognisable formal structure based on three items of great architectural value: the facade-doorway with the adjacent School courtyard, the Cloisters and the Chapel.

The project proposes an integrated operation on the whole building with different degrees of intensity. In the old School yard and Cloisters, we will respect the original structure, preserving and restoring the most valuable architectural features. Here we propose a reorganization of all circulations and exhibition areas of the Museum.

A new reception pavilion will centralize all entrances to the precinct. Conceived as a small independent unit, contemporary in its form and materials, it will converse through its scale with the existing architecture.

In the Azoteas Building, which gets its name from the raised units that emerged from above the rest of the constructions, we preserve its gallery-facade, transforming its interior and changing its cross-section profile. Roof lighting will preside over tall new exhibition halls that are appropriate for displaying the largest items in the Museum’s valuable collection.

Like pieces of an architectural retable constructed over the centuries, the new architectural interventions will become part of the never-ending process of additions and modifications which weave the life of buildings in the course of time.

Enrique Sobejano
Fuensanta Nieto

CREDITS

Architects:
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, S.L.P.
Fuensanta Nieto – Enrique Sobejano

Project Architect: Pedro Quero

Collaborators:
Carlos Ballesteros
Denis Bouvier
Vanessa Perelló
Juan Carlos Redondo

Site Supervision:
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, S.L.P.
Fuensanta Nieto – Enrique Sobejan
Miguel Mesas Izquierdo, Technical Architect

Structure:
N.B.35 S.L.

Mechanical Engineer:
Geasyt S.A.

Museographic Projetc:
Fuensanta Nieto – Enrique Sobejano

Collaborators Museographic Projetc:
Pedro Quero
Juan Carlos Redondo
Luis Labrandero
Ernesto Garcia Piza

Models:
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, S.L.P.
Juan de Dios Hernández – Jesús Rey

Construction Company:
CYM Yánez, S.A