Restoration and refurbishment of the Racetrack of the Zarzuela Hippodrome in Madrid. Phase I

The restoration and Refurbishment of the Hipódromo de la Zarzuela racecourse is approached from two fundamental premises:

- Research into the historical development of the racecourse, in order to recover and reconstruct the essential values of Arniches, Domínguez and Torroja's 1935 project, which went unfinished due to the outbreak of the Civil War and finished after the Civil War without the architects. There are no reference documents, except for the structural plans. The starting points were the original plans of the 1934 competition and the Construction Survey, research to discover and analyse the original values and construction systems that had been misrepresented and lost due to extensions and modifications carried out on the site. This revealed significant structural damage which required consolidating and repairing the structure.

- Finding the balance between the new works necessary for hosting races, given that the operation and use of the racecourse is the best guarantee for the conservation of one of the most exceptional works of Spanish architecture and engineering of the 20th century.

Once the structural repair work was complete, restoration and refurbishment of the architectural complex commenced recover the essential values of the 1935 project by Arniches, Domínguez and Torroja: implementation of the complex by adapting it to the terrain and integrating it into the surroundings; functional organisation, and the unity and scale of the complex.

In 2004, Junquera Arquitectos won the tender for the Restoration and Refurbishment of the Hipódromo de la Zarzuela Racecourse, organised by the company Hipódromo de la Zarzuela S.A. Work began in 2008 with the restoration of the grandstand canopies, which had deteriorated over time and had been damaged by water and building work carried out in earlier stages. At the same time as the canopies were being restored, a construction survey was made of the site. This was research work to discover and analyse the original values and construction systems, which had been distorted and lost through extensions and modifications made to the site. This revealed significant structural damage which required consolidating and repairing the structure. Once the structural repairs had been made, the restoration and refurbishment of the architectural complex began, with the aim of recovering the essential values of the 1934 project by Arniches, Domínguez and Torroja:

- Implementation of the built area: adaptation to the land and integration into the surroundings.

- Functional organisation: uses and traffic.

- Unity and scale of the ensemble: the restoration project was responsible for the beauty of the future racecourse to enhance its original values by recovering those it had lost. To do this, it was proposed:

- Removing attachments to the historic buildings that had been distorted.

- Restore the racecourse's emblematic grandstands for watching the races.

- Adapting the topography and separating horse and public traffic on two levels as per the 1934 project: the public enters the site through the south and north courtyards, which are connected by the paddock gallery. All the horse's movements on a lower level are visible from this level without interfering. The courtyards give onto the terraces between the grandstands, with views of the track and the city.

- The saddle rooms stay in their original position, with the racing, jockeys, veterinary, etc. services around them in a new building dug into the ground and open to gardens that provide privacy, lighting and natural ventilation. With independent entrances and direct access to the paddock and the central grandstand without contact with the public.

- Provide for the possible extension of an underground Convention Centre in the north courtyard without affecting the views of the historic buildings and the landscape. The proposal is to recover the Zarzuela Hippodrome for the city with optimal facilities for racing and equestrian sport, balancing the use and enjoyment of the monument.