The discovery of possible archaeological remains of the Buen Retiro Palace slows down the works of the Hall of Realms

by time news

The architectural rehabilitation and museum adaptation works of the Salón de Reinos (with which the Prado will close its campus) have slowed down after finding remains in the building. Specifically, it deals with “archaeological structures on the north terrace of the building, hidden and unknown until now, compatible with remains of original constructions of the Buen Retiro Palace, the discovery of existing foundation structures that have revealed previous irregular interventions and heterogeneous”, according to what the Government reported yesterday. The existence of major damage to the brickwork of the main structural walls of the building has also been verified, as well as subsequent poor-quality repairs.

Sources from the Prado Museum explained to ABC yesterday that these circumstances have forced them to request a readjudication of the planned annualization of expenses, since in this course it has not been possible to execute the spending ceiling of 4.5 million euros. According to the same sources, this will not modify the total budget of 34.8 million, and for the moment 2025 is maintained as the deadline for the completion of the works. According to Prado, the estimated budget now includes the following items: 1.5 million in 2022, 20.5 million in 2023, 9.9 million in 2024 and 3 million in 2025. The reference from the Council of Ministers, on the other hand, in The modification of the limits of the commitment of expenses extends the temporary period by one year, until 2026. The Treasury speaks of new needs of 21.5 million euros for 2023, 10.7 million for 2024, 6.6 million for 2025 and 2,204 euros for 2026 .

From the Museo del Prado they indicate that this difference in the figures is explained because the amounts quoted by the Treasury also refer to other committed expenses and, in any case, they ensure that the works in historic buildings, in the center of Madrid, “have these eventualities”. The deadline for the works, according to the initial project, was thirty months from the start, which originally should have started in February and did not do so until the end of July.

This delay is another circumstance that has motivated the reallocation of annual expenses. The project and facultative direction of the rehabilitation works of the Hall of Realms corresponds to the Foster + Partners SLP-Rubio Arquitectura SLP Joint Venture, winner of the international ideas competition. With this rehabilitation, which will incorporate almost 9,500 square meters of the Salón de Reinos, the Prado will have the possibility of offering an exhibition space that will allow the presentation of its collections to be expanded, in addition to developing a specific program of temporary exhibitions complementary to the current one.

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