https://i.ibb.co/34ZXZrM/Screenshot-2024-03-14-at-8-11-50-AM.png
It has generated plenty of memes and criticism from Madridistas and outsiders alike. I frequent Spanish architecture forums, Spanish Youtube channels dedicated to the stadium renovation, and Spanish Real Madrid Twitter accounts and there's often intense debates between people who deny there's anything wrong with the stadium and people who are disgusted by how the Bernabeu looks like a bird's nest or prison because of the transparency of the steel panels and how you can, as a result, see the underlying structures.
At night the stadium looks horrible so far atm (in my opinion) and club sources, in defense, are saying that there's still a 15 million + euro investment coming with the interior and exterior lighting to help fix the image that the stadium currently gives at night.
During the day it is the western (main facade) and southern facades which cause the most controversy, as the roof/ceiling and north facade do not have the transparent effect and the eastern facade does but it actually looks somewhat good there.
What are some thoughts here regarding the nest/cage effect that the Bernabeu has because of the transparency?
by Solidus35
4 comments
It looks really bad. No lighting will fix this atrocity
Looks ugly as hell on the outside.
Im an Architect. The project is a Marvel of engineering and will definitely be a quintessential case study for projects of the scope (Stadium Renovation). The comments on the “second skin” are somewhat valid at best and spitefully naive at worst: Buildings are made up of things, solid heavy things, there is no such thing a transparent building, even the glassiest of skyscrapers have the most solid of columns to hold up the structure. That being said, a huge part of an Architects job is to create an illusion, a theatre of form/shape/light etc. Should the Architects have considered that perhaps the structures necessary to hold the angled fins would be too “visible” at night. Yes and No. Should a car manufacturer worry about what someone will see when they open the hood of the car? What some may consider the ugly “truth” of the building, someone else can appreciate for its tectonic prowess. In so many words: beauty is subjective. Furthermore, it’s very common for Pinterest critics to hold up a paper thin critique of a building only for how it looks in a picture, at a specific time of day. In reality this is not how we experience buildings or Architecture. If it really bothers you that much, I suggest you go to the new Stadium and experience the building for yourself. From the approach, to the entry sequence, all the way up the stairs and onto the pitch. Do you find it interesting that this abstract metallic wave is actually made up of smaller pieces of metal all fastened to a huge armature being held by the old Bernabeu? Can you see the “movement” of the metal waves as the light flickers and bounces of the facade? Can you feel the scale and the weight of the building, and does the new delicate metal skin make the building feel lighter? Etc. Etc.
TLDR: it’s a great project and a marvel of engineering. If you can’t find the positives in the project you simply are looking at the wrong things or not asking the right questions.
This is exactly why they don’t hire fans to build stadiums, they hire professionals.
Honestly? I couldn’t care less how it looks; the only important aspect is from the perspective at which I am watching the white jerseys inside it. I lost my breath approaching the stadium during my visit, and it had everything to do with the history of the club and nothing to do with the design of the stadium. I love the old design because of the history, and the renovations will be a sight to see…on my way to watch the game. Whether or not I like the building will not change my feelings.
From America, with love.