The architect Luis Pérez de Prada, director of properties and natural environment at Patrimonio Nacional, walks the roof of the Royal Palace on an exceptional site visit to explain how the 19 million euros of European funds destined to improve the building that Philip V ordered to be built on the rugged terrain next to the river, which had been occupied by the old alcázar, burned down in 1734, are being spent.
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The European premise for granting the funds is always to improve energy efficiency, and that is why almost half of the investment (7,500,000 euros) has been allocated to intervene on the roof and replace a part of the lead sheets that waterproof it. This has reduced consumption by 38% and improved the energy rating, which goes from letter D to B.
The most modern techniques have been applied in replacing the malleable high-purity lead sheets
“This is a highly specialized job in which the same materials that were there have been used, but applying the most modern technology,” analyzes Pérez de Prada about the necessary combination of restoration and updating in this type of intervention.
After observing the privileged view of the snowy peaks of the Sierra de Guadarrama on the horizon, the architect dwells on the constructive details during the tour of the dizzying scaffolding: the difficulty of adapting the high-purity lead sheets, a very malleable material, to the nooks and crannies of the chimney protrusions or skylights, where operators must be meticulous to ensure that not a single drop of water filters through, for example.
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The volumes and shapes of the building’s ornaments, designed to be seen from the outside, have a different dimension from these heights, and the metal ties that support the enormous sculptures from behind are visible. The stage machinery of the impressive architectural construction that opens onto the Plaza de Oriente.
In addition to repairing the roof, European funds have served to reopen the Villanueva tunnel (or Bonaparte, as it is popularly known), the final part of which, already outside the palace grounds, is managed by the Madrid City Council, and which will connect the Campo del Moro with the banks of the Manzanares, and also to recover the Royal Pharmacy, opened in 1874 and closed since the end of the last century, where work is being done on accessibility for people with disabilities, with the implementation of an elevator, and on the restoration of the preserved tiles and furniture, such as the shelves and racks of the herbarium and the laboratory.
These dependencies, located on one side of the Plaza de la Armería, will also serve to house a new visitor reception center, which in 2025 reached 1.8 million people. It will be more spacious and allow for better distribution of flows. Furthermore, the shop and cafeteria will be located inside the palace, in stately-designed halls where it is anticipated that tea with pastries will be highly sought after. This will be the final point of a tour that, in this way, will become more coherent and orderly.
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