figure 1. http://www.arcspace.com/features/rafael-moneo/prado-museum-extention-/
In order to initiate this new prospective establishment of the museum, it was under critical investigation to choose an architect with a phenomenal aesthetic who is capable of executing all the necessary functions all while retaining the historic culture associated with Villanueva’s existing building. “The need to update and enlarge the Prado's ancillary services required an unusual alliance between Spain's two opposing political parties, which have alternated in power during the 12-year span of the museum's expansion. The project was entrusted to Rafael Moneo, who at 70 [was] the country's most respected began with an inconclusive open international competition in 1995. Ten finalists were selected from 483 entries and invited to participate in a second competition in 1998 with a more defined program, after which Moneo was awarded the commission.3 Consequently, his work on the expansion building was a true testament to the city of Madrid to display a new communication between classical antiquity and the development of a modern 20th century structure. Historically, the Prado Museum embodies the values of culture and styles of antiquity, thus creating immense pressure to design a building that does not overshadow the refinement of the existing museum and the surrounding architecture. “The strength of Spanish architect Rafael Moneo's new addition to the Prado Museum in Madrid lies in his ability to analyze and resolve the conflicting layers of history that literally stratify the hillside site behind the museum's original building.”4 Overcoming obstacles to avoid changing the overall composition of this site, Moneo had to establish a series of boundaries that would essentially satisfy both the ruling power as well as the city’s occupants. “Perhaps the most difficult problem Moneo faced was establishing a cordial relation with the adjacent church, which stands on a platform 20 feet above the street, and which had once been attached directly to the cloister.”5 In light of the architectural connection between the existing museum and the church, Moneo’s development truly revolutionized the concept of a museum experience by incorporating the church of San Jerónimo el Real as part of his new extension of the Prado Museum.6 As a final conclusion based on the overall design of Moneo’s extension building, it is certain that he was successful in achieving a fluid relationship between the existing museum without hindering the aesthetic composition of antiquity encompassed by the existing architecture.In fact, he transformed the entire entity of the museum itself by “enclos[ing] the cloister adjacent to the sixteenth century church of San Jerónimo el Real, which is majestically sited on a hill. The cloister had long been left to crumble but has now been completely reconstructed and restored and is encased within Moneo’s building under a massive skylight, where it appears almost as a work of art in its own right,”7 making this extension truly remarkable in the efforts of architectural restoration. 3. Cohn, 120. 4. Martin Fuller. "New museums: the good, the bad, and the horribly misguided." Architectural Record 196, no. 6 (2008): 51-52. 5. Kim Bradley. "Madrid's ‘Museum Mile.’" Art In America 91, no. 7: 13. 6. Fig. 1. Thomas Mayer, The Extension Museum. The Prado Museum, Madrid. (Pg. 9) 7. Richard Shone. "Editorial: entradas y salidas." Burlington Magazine 150, no. 1266: 583.
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