Refurbishment and extension of the Palau de la Música

Reducing the length of the nave, which was unnecessarily long, allowed us to free up space behind the apse where a small square for access to the Palau and a tower to extend it are located. This new construction easily solves all the deficiencies in the services of the current building, and allowed us to release the Palau from successive modifications that have been masking Domenech's original work. The new entrance crosses the old courtyard - now glazed - making Doménech's dream to design an isolated building - as it seems from the inside - come true, treating this previously invisible courtyard as the symmetrical façade facing the street. The creation of the little square is essential to give access to the hall and the appearance of a third façade of the auditorium formed by the courtyard, treated by Domènech with the same character as the longitudinal façade.

The most important changes to the interior of the Palau are on the ground floor, with the creation of a large foyer with two entrances and two staircases, the new one in the restored, glazed courtyard. Now that the courtyard has been restored, the hall receives symmetrical light from the stained glass windows in the façades. The room, with its enlarged stage, bears more resemblance to the one designed by Domènech i Muntaner than to the one that existed before the changes.

The tower is an example of our interest in combining applied arts with architecture. Ten years after the initial upgrade, the neighbouring church was completely moved, enabling us to make our most transcendental contribution to the monument: to give the Palau a new façade, opening the richly decorated side courtyard of Domènech to the new square.

He dreamt of a free-standing building and, a century later, we have made his dream come true. On the north side of the square we had erected a building for the musicians (dressing rooms, library...), and on the south side we built for the public and the music school. And beneath the new square, a hall for 540 spectators, equipped with the new technologies that the Palau needed so badly.