CAMPOSELISEOSTHEATRERENOVATIONAND EXPANSION

Architects: Architecture Studio Santiago Fajardo

Location: Bilbao, Spain

Collaborator: Architecture Department of the City of Bilbao

Blanca BREA, Rosa MUGA

Technical Support: Labein

Maider ALZOLA, Iñaki MARCOS, Beatriz TEJEDA

Stage Engineering: GDC Consulting

Audio and Video Engineering: Ingenieria CPAA

Engineering general facilities: GOYMAR, GE

Total Surface area: 7,800 sq. m.

Year: 2010

Photography: Estudio Santiago Fajardo and Juan Marinero

The Campos Eliseos Theatre in Bilbao is a curious and novel example of modernist architecture, interwovenwith a pre-existing Renaissance Theatre. The original building featured two innovative construction techniquesfor its time, namely its skeleton steel structure and the façade covered in moulded artificial stone.

Constructed in 1902 on the site of an urban park, which gave its name to the theatre, the now defunct CamposEliseos Theatre went through a series of complicated downsizing transformations in order to assure its continuity.This eventually led to the sale and segregation of fundamental parts of the original theatre, which are nowformally and structurally part of adjacent buildings. It could thus be said that the theatre was an active participantin the whole transformation process to have taken place on the block.

What was finally left of the original Campos Eliseos Theatre was the hall, the interstice spaces and the entrance,the stage house and a small adjoining lateral section to the left of the hall where a stairway connects all levelsof the audience. In fact very little was left of this theatre, and if there had been any less one could not viewthis building as such.

Renovation and Expansion of Campos Eliseos Theatre

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Regeneration via a functional expansion of the original building which resolved the current problem of limited

space to meet essential logistic demands on the theatre's facilities, which in its former dimensions was unable

to satisfy.

The building has grown stage right by means of an adjoining section annexed from the ground floor of the

building next door, providing a separate entrance for artists and technicians, as well as stage house services

and part of the facilities for the public on the ground floor. Excavating the basement beneath the hall gained

space to install a combined mechanical system of mobile platforms and retractable seats, giving birth to a multi-

purpose main hall thanks to a robotised system. Above the main hall new space has been gained for

administration, technical and training areas. Finally, highly strategic facilities within the theatre, such as the

café and a multi-purpose hall, on the upper level, act as complements to the main hall in terms of the functionality

of the whole building.

REGENERACIÓN FUNCIONAL

Restoration of the original building and its relevant elements: façade, hall and original basic structure.

RESTORATION

The proposal to convert the Campos Eliseos Theatre

into an avant-garde venue has moved us to take the

following action:

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The implementation of technology related to the equipment in the main hall, stage house and multi-purpose

hall, has facilitated the creation of a modern, multi-functional and technologically well-equipped theatre. The

main hall, with its mechanical systems combining mobile platforms and retractable seats enable the stalls and

stage to be arranged as per need according to the requirements of the event. Furthermore, the range of events

that the multi-purpose hall is able to hold can go from theatre, opera and zarzuela- the traditional Spanish

operetta, to chamber music concerts, symphonic and pop-rock concerts, including cabaret, or even receptions

and dances.

This design is a balance between the unashamedly contemporary with a certain neutrality and compatibility

with the pre-existing elements of the theatre. The recessed glass exterior enclosure respects the alignment

of the original main façade, the protagonist of the whole scene. This inherent transparency further allows an

interesting possibility, a display of its renewed vitality, opening up to the exterior in self-representation, or rather,

a theatrical display of the theatre itself.

TECHNOLOGICAL IMPLEMENTATION

Acting as a separation between the

exterior and the hall, the new interstice

spaces have been treated in a like

manner. These interiors project a serene

and unmistakably contemporary

personality, resulting in a confirmation

of surprise and delight of finding a hidden

fruit on the inside: the wonderful,

stunning and lively hall of seats.