LUCE estratti LUCE 325 _Ferrari_Il MAN di Madrid | Page 6

“Sono convinto non si debba mai
cadere in una visione nostalgica
del passato, e che in epoca
contemporanea sia necessario
potenziare il valore e il carattere
di un edificio antico creando nuove
relazioni spaziali e aggiungendo
nuovi corpi di fabbrica”
“I believe that one must never fall
into a nostalgic vision of the past
and that it is nowadays necessary
to enhance the value and
the character of an old building,
creating new spatial relations
and adding new parts”
JUAN PABLO RODRÍGUEZ FRADE
The MAN in Madrid
and its light
The history of Spain through 13,000 artistic
and archaeological artefacts
E
stablished in 1867 by Queen Isabella II,
the National Archaeological Museum (MAN)
in Madrid displays a wide collection of artistic
and archaeological finds coming from the Iberian
Peninsula, along with Egyptian, Greek,
and Roman artefacts. The goal at the time of its
opening was to tell the history of the country,
collecting the most important pieces in a single
prestigious place. The exhibition includes 13
thousand objects. Located in a neoclassical
building designed by Francisco Jareño and
affected by Berlin projects of Karl Friedrich
Schinkel (1781 –1841), just a few steps away from
the Parque del Retiro – the cultural district of the
Spanish capital which houses other important
institutions such as the Reina Sofia, the Thyssen-
Bornemisza, the Caixa Forum and the Prado –,
the museum shares the premises with the
National Library.
It recently underwent a major restoration that
led to a complete rearrangement of the museum,
refreshing its splendour. The works were also
essential to update the exhibitions museography
and to adjust the inner spaces to contemporary
needs in terms of safety and compliance
with regulations.
The project is signed by Frade Arquitectos,
winner of the public competition organized for
the occasion. Juan Pablo Rodríguez Frade,
founder of the firm, tells its origin: “During time,
countless interventions have been made on
Jareño’s building. During the seventies, under
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