National Museum of Performing Arts of Spain | Donaire Milans Arquitectos

Restoration Project of the Palace of the Masters
Museographic Project of the Permanent Collection
Donaire Milans Arquitectos

The intervention at the National Theatre Museum of Almagro, future National Museum of Performing Arts, has been an exercise in precision and respect for history; a subtle dialogue between past and present that seeks to enhance the essence of the building with minimal resources and maximum impact. Located in the former Palace of the Masters of Calatrava, the museum, steeped in memory, required an update to improve its functionality without losing its identity, while also allowing for an expanded exhibition capacity.

The restoration has reinterpreted the existing spaces from a contemporary perspective, redefining access and the circulation system to make them more intuitive, open, and accessible. Elements that restricted the fluidity of movement have been removed, allowing natural light—which surrounds the central stone core through overhead openings—to reclaim its prominence and flow more freely through each room. The removal of the old staircases, now relocated to the main communication core, has transformed the spatial perception, vertically amplifying the entire complex, granting it greater lightness and strengthening the visual connection between levels.

The museographic project, developed in parallel with the architectural intervention, has been sensitively adapted to the existing spaces, making use of every modification to enrich the visitor experience. The new arrangement of display cases and works creates a broad spectrum of intersecting views, allowing the visitor to move through a museum full of dynamic visual experiences, with connections at different heights and between diverse areas. In this way, architecture and museography intertwine in a play of perspectives and reflections that complements and gives meaning to the architectural intervention.

One of the most representative elements of this new relationship between architecture and narrative exhibition is the large LED screen installed in front of the tiered seating incorporated in the intervention, specifically designed to welcome visitors at the start of their journey. This audiovisual device presents the recent history of performing arts in Spain, establishing a bridge between the living memory of the collection and contemporary technological languages.

Through precise decisions and a minimalist approach, the image of the museum has been updated, endowing it with a brighter and more serene atmosphere: a neutral framework where the museum’s valuable collection, carefully curated by Ángel Martínez Roger, and the new graphics by Inés Atienza, take center stage. The use of noble materials and construction solutions respectful of the original building has ensured the sustainability of the intervention, minimizing its impact and allowing for future updates to the museographic proposal.

The result is a museum that is more open, accessible, and inspiring; a renewed space that invites exploration and discovery, where the performing arts are not only narrated but also staged through space, light, and technology.

CREDITS 

National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM)
Spanish Ministry of Culture
National Museum of Performing Arts (Almagro, Ciudad Real)

Architecture and Exhibition Design: Donaire Milans Arquitectos (DMA)

Architects

Jesús Donaire

María Milans del Bosch

Collaborators

Carlos Pérez

Marta Esteban-Infantes

Project Manager: José Manuel Fernández

Construction company: COVESA Proyectos y Servicios S.L.

Museography Company: AVANZIA APLICACIONES S.L. + HDFABER

Curator of the Permanent Exhibition: Ángel M. Roger

Graphic Designer (museography + catalogue): Inés Atienza

Fotography (project + museography): ©Montse Zamorano

www.montsezamorano.com