{"id":118794,"date":"2025-11-05T06:12:21","date_gmt":"2025-11-05T06:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/118794\/"},"modified":"2025-11-05T06:12:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T06:12:21","slug":"bach-converts-historic-auditorium-into-red-velvet-cinema-in-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/118794\/","title":{"rendered":"BACH converts historic auditorium into red-velvet cinema in madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>BACH Transforms Historic Auditorium into Contemporary Cinema<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/architecture-in-spain\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Madrid<\/a>, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sof\u00eda inaugurates the former auditorium in the Sabatini building, now reimagined by BACH as a contemporary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/cinemas\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">cinema<\/a> and performance hall. The 520-square-meter project reinterprets the geometry and atmosphere of the 1987 design by Jaume Bach and Gabriel Mora, introducing new acoustic and visual technologies.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Jaume Bach, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/anna-and-eugeni-bach\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Anna &amp; Eugeni Bach<\/a> retain the two defining triangular geometries of the original structure, including the angular projection booth that organizes circulation at the entrance and the suspended triangle above the stage that once functioned as a reverberation device. The latter element is now reborn as a large acoustic screen concealing the central speaker. Meanwhile, the translation booths, once essential, are now obsolete and removed, and the slope of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/chair-design\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">seating<\/a> is increased to improve sightlines and audience experience.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1162357 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"BACH converts reina sof\u00eda's auditorium into red-velvet cinema beneath blue vault in madrid\" width=\"818\" height=\"935\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/bach-reina-sofia-historic-auditorium-red-velvet-cinema-starry-blue-vault-madrid-designboom-02.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>all images by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/eugenibach\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Eugeni Bach<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Red-and-Blue hues saturate the renewed Reina Sof\u00eda Auditorium<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Materially, the intervention deepens the atmospheric qualities of the hall. The vaulted ceiling, formerly neutral, is now painted a deep blue, a \u2018night sky\u2019 that envelops the space, while the floors and walls are dressed in shades of red that recall the classical tradition of theater interiors, from Erik Gunnar Asplund\u2019s Skandia Cinema in Stockholm to Madrid\u2019s own Cine Dor\u00e9. Between these dominant hues, the window niches become softly illuminated volumes, their absorbent surfaces evoking the sensation of looking outward, as if the audience were seated beneath an open, starlit sky.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In the entrance lobby, the <a href=\"https:\/\/bacharquitectes.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Barcelona-based architects<\/a> introduce a triangular storage unit that echoes the projection booth\u2019s form and subtly directs circulation toward the rear of the hall. They preserve the existing Serliana, a characteristic arched composition, and unite all surrounding surfaces in a single, velvety red tone. Behind heavy curtains, the new cinema is revealed, its color palette and spatial composition conjuring cinematic worlds that stretch from Luis Bu\u00f1uel and Pedro Almod\u00f3var to David Lynch and Aki Kaurism\u00e4ki.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1162356 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"BACH converts reina sof\u00eda's auditorium into red-velvet cinema beneath blue vault in madrid\" width=\"818\" height=\"535\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/bach-reina-sofia-historic-auditorium-red-velvet-cinema-starry-blue-vault-madrid-designboom-01.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sof\u00eda inaugurates the former auditorium in the Sabatini building<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An 18th-century space in Madrid reawakens<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Located within the 18th-century General Hospital of Madrid, an iconic neoclassical structure by Jos\u00e9 de Hermosilla and Francisco Sabatini, the Reina Sof\u00eda has undergone successive transformations since its conversion into a museum in 1992 and its expansion in 2005. The original auditorium of the Sabatini building, designed by Bach and Mora, had long served as the venue for lectures and events. With the construction of two new auditoriums in the expansion, the institution was able to reconceive this earlier hall as a dedicated cinema. Through layering of form, color, and memory, BACH revamps the Reina Sof\u00eda\u2019s original auditorium without erasing its past.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1162358 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"BACH converts reina sof\u00eda's auditorium into red-velvet cinema beneath blue vault in madrid\" width=\"818\" height=\"842\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/bach-reina-sofia-historic-auditorium-red-velvet-cinema-starry-blue-vault-madrid-designboom-03.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>the space is reimagined by BACH as a contemporary cinema and performance hall<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1162365 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"BACH converts reina sof\u00eda's auditorium into red-velvet cinema beneath blue vault in madrid\" width=\"818\" height=\"836\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/bach-reina-sofia-historic-auditorium-red-velvet-cinema-starry-blue-vault-madrid-designboom-10.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>reinterpreting the geometry and atmosphere of the 1987 design by Jaume Bach and Gabriel Mora<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1162367 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"BACH converts reina sof\u00eda's auditorium into red-velvet cinema beneath blue vault in madrid\" width=\"818\" height=\"971\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/bach-reina-sofia-historic-auditorium-red-velvet-cinema-starry-blue-vault-madrid-designboom-12.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>Jaume Bach, Anna &amp; Eugeni Bach retain the two defining triangular geometries of the original design<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1162366 size-full lazyload\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"BACH converts reina sof\u00eda's auditorium into red-velvet cinema beneath blue vault in madrid\" width=\"818\" height=\"545\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/bach-reina-sofia-historic-auditorium-red-velvet-cinema-starry-blue-vault-madrid-designboom-11.jpg\"  data- loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>the vaulted ceiling, formerly neutral, is now painted a deep blue<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BACH Transforms Historic Auditorium into Contemporary Cinema \u00a0 In Madrid, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sof\u00eda&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118795,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[83987,21841,442,498,499,500,13182,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-118794","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-anna-and-eugeni-bach","9":"tag-architecture-in-spain","10":"tag-arts","11":"tag-arts-and-design","12":"tag-artsanddesign","13":"tag-artsdesign","14":"tag-cinemas","15":"tag-design","16":"tag-entertainment","17":"tag-new-zealand","18":"tag-newzealand","19":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118794\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}