The awards organized by the World Football Summit (WFS), the leading platform for the global football industry, have recognized the full Renovation of the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium as the Best Stadium in the World for 2024, designed by L35 Architects in collaboration with gmp Architekten and RIBAS &RIBAS Arquitectos.
The organization has highlighted and praised its “innovative” features and “ambitious vision,” which are transforming the landscape of sports stadiums.
“We are very happy to receive this Best Venue Award, not only as architects but as part of a much greater common effort together with all participants and under the leadership of the Real Madrid", explain Tristán López - Chicheri, CEO and senior partner of L35 Architects.
Redefining a symbol: Bernabéu is much more than a stadium
After numerous refurbishments to increase its seating capacity and general modernization the current remodeling project started in June 2012, when the team composed by L35 Architects, in collaboration with GMP and Ribas & Ribas, submitted the winning proposal for the competition sponsored by Real Madrid.
"Our challenge as architects was to reconfigure a building of monumental character that would become an icon for both the club and the city", points out Tristán López - Chicheri, CEO and Senior Partner of L35 Architects.
L35 Architects are experts in the design of international sports facilities, such as the Simón Bolívar Stadium in La Paz or the Campín Sports-Cultural complex in Bogotá.
A main objective of the competition proposal was to give the stadium a public entrance. The existing stadium had 57 doors but not a main entrance. On the Castellana side, the plaza was levelled in order to generate a main entrance to the stadium beneath the new facade's large overhang. The design of the entrance below the overhang on the Paseo de la Castellana provides a public facade and entrance from the city side: the grand lobby of Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
On the opposite side, the east façade, we generated a new outdoor area facing the Plaza de los Sagrados Corazones, a square that acts as an antechamber to the other main access to the stadium.
At this plaza, the underground vehicle access was resolved through the addition of earth mounds that have a triple function: they camouflage the access ramps, hide the ventilation stacks between the vegetation and generate a green wall that occupies the central void of the plaza thus transforming it into a new public space protected from the surrounding traffic.
A new permeable and changing façade
As a main proposal for the competition, we had a “flexible” façade that could adapt to everything that needed to be contained. Imagining the new Santiago Bernabéu involved finding a new flexible cladding system, that could adapt to all the project variables. From the initial conceptual sketches, the intention was to readjust the massing of the building to the city scale. Not as an afterthought, but as a response to the Real Madrid instructions to create a strong visual image for the Bernabéu as a new city icon.
“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 several 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.
The geometry of the new envelope is not accidental. Its curved surfaces reflect light in a changing way: Its soft curved edges express dynamism. But the arrangement of these curves and cornices produce a new perception of the building at pedestrian level, in such a way that the volume is slowly revealed when the width of the street forces a closer view, and expanding when distance allows for perspective, the stadium needs to dominate and visually organise its surroundings. At the same time, the shape of the envelope adapts to the needs of the new program, expanding or receding without losing its unity.
The cladding is not conceived as a hermetic armature, instead it is more like a light permeable steel skin which, through the parametrisation of the façade panel system, includes openings that allow light and air to pass through, facilitating the required natural ventilation for the correct functioning of the circulation galleries. The idea was to integrate the stadium with its context, by treating the façade as a subtle mirror that reflects the constantly changing surroundings. The reflective quality of steel together with the surface treatment creates this diffuse reflective quality over the façade. Together with the curve and its sinuous forms, the façade dematerialises helping to reduce its apparent volume and better integrate with its setting.
By covering the stands, comfort is enhanced, spectators are protected from rain and sun, and the overall experience is improved. Additionally, the roof has been designed to support various elements that enhance the sporting experience: screens, scoreboards, lighting, projectors, and security cameras. Moreover, having a roof that can fully close allows for the creation of a controlled environment, regardless of weather conditions.
Completion of Construction and Exterior Development
Currently, the stadium construction is in its final stages, including leisure zones, VIP spaces, and press areas, as well as the external urban development. Regarding interior circulation, particularly in the galleries, work is underway with a more efficient lighting system focused on high-traffic areas. The new lighting design aims to enhance the simplicity of the interior layout, supporting the wayfinding project through architectural solutions that identify different zones.
As work progresses in various sectors of the stadium, the exterior development continues to move forward. Following the completion of Rafael Salgado and Padre Damián streets, the east plaza is being finalized together with access to the metro and parking, ensuring connectivity between public and private transportation and the stadium’s interiors. The landscaped exterior area, which include functional elements for parking access and logistic areas of the stadium, will be part of the grand entrance to the new Bernabéu.
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Press release and photos courtesy of L35 Architects
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