An opening date of 23 June 2017 has been announced for Renzo Piano’s first completed building in Spain: the Botín Center art museum in Santander.
Designed in collaboration with Luis Vidal Architects, the building was described by Botín Foundation director general Inigo Sáenz de Miera on 30 March as “a unique place for art, and an engine that generates economic, social and cultural wealth for northern Spain.”
The building is formed of two dramatic volumes, which cantilever over the sea. A ceramic skin composed of 270,000 circular pieces reflects light and the changing colours of the sky and the water below.
The west of the museum is dedicated to art and the east to cultural and educational activities. Together the 10,285sq m (110,700sq ft) complex features two large exhibition halls, an auditorium for 300 people, training classrooms, workshop areas, a roof terrace and a seafood tavern run by Michelin star chef Jesús Sánchez.
Two squares to the north and west of the building provide new areas of public realm, with the latter forming an outdoor amphitheatre for cultural activities.
The site is located in Santander’s historic Jardines de Pereda, which have been remodeled and expanded by Piano and landscape architect Fernando Caruncho – tripling the green areas so they reach all the way to the sea. Artist Cristina Iglesias has created a stone, steel and water “sculptural intervention” here called From the Underground – consisting of four wells and a pond filled with underwater flora.
“The Botín Center will become one of the centres of reference for art in Europe,” said de Miera. “It will be a cosy place where you can enjoy, learn and inspire.”
The centre will open its doors with three major exhibitions scheduled for this year. The first will be the first Spanish show of contemporary artist Carsten Höller, the second will be dedicated to the drawings of Goya, and the third will be a retrospective of the work of Julie Mehretu.
