The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía has officially reopened its historic auditorium in the Sabatini building, now completely transformed by Barcelona-based architecture firm BACH into a contemporary cinema and performance hall. The ambitious 520-square-meter renovation project reimagines the space's original 1987 design by architects Jaume Bach and Gabriel Mora, incorporating cutting-edge acoustic and visual technologies while preserving the venue's distinctive architectural character.
The renovation team, led by Jaume Bach and Anna Bach, made the strategic decision to retain the two defining triangular geometries that characterized the original auditorium structure. These include the angular projection booth that effectively organizes visitor circulation at the main entrance, and the suspended triangular element positioned above the stage area, which originally served as a reverberation device for acoustic purposes. This suspended triangle has now been ingeniously repurposed as a large acoustic screen that conceals the cinema's central speaker system.
Significant structural modifications were implemented to enhance the audience experience and modernize the facility. The architects removed the translation booths, which had become obsolete over time, and increased the slope of the seating arrangement to dramatically improve sightlines throughout the auditorium. These changes ensure that every seat in the house offers an optimal viewing experience for both films and live performances.
The most striking aspect of the renovation lies in its bold use of color, which creates a deeply atmospheric environment reminiscent of classic cinema halls. The vaulted ceiling, previously painted in neutral tones, now features a rich deep blue finish that evokes a nighttime sky and envelops the entire space in dramatic ambiance. The floors and walls are dressed in luxurious shades of red that pay homage to the classical tradition of theater interiors, drawing inspiration from iconic venues such as Erik Gunnar Asplund's Skandia Cinema in Stockholm and Madrid's own historic Cine Doré.
Between these dominant red and blue color schemes, the window niches have been transformed into softly illuminated volumes with specially designed absorbent surfaces. These create the unique sensation for audience members of looking outward into space, as if they were seated beneath an open, star-filled sky. This clever design element enhances the immersive quality of the cinema experience.
The entrance lobby received equally thoughtful attention, with the architects introducing a custom-designed triangular storage unit that deliberately echoes the form of the projection booth while subtly guiding visitor circulation toward the rear of the hall. The team preserved the existing Serliana, a characteristic arched architectural composition, and unified all surrounding surfaces in a single, rich velvety red tone. Heavy curtains dramatically reveal the new cinema space, whose carefully curated color palette and spatial composition evoke the cinematic worlds of renowned directors ranging from Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar to David Lynch and Aki Kaurismäki.
The auditorium is housed within the historic 18th-century General Hospital of Madrid, an iconic neoclassical structure originally designed by architects José de Hermosilla and Francisco Sabatini. The Reina Sofía museum has undergone multiple transformations since its conversion from hospital to museum in 1992, followed by a major expansion in 2005. The original Sabatini building auditorium, designed by Bach and Mora, had served for decades as the primary venue for academic lectures and cultural events.
With the construction of two new auditoriums in the museum's expansion wing, the institution gained the opportunity to completely reconceive this earlier hall as a dedicated cinema space. Through this masterful layering of form, color, and historical memory, BACH has successfully revitalized the Reina Sofía's original auditorium without erasing its rich architectural past, creating a space that honors both its heritage and its contemporary function as a world-class cinema venue.
