The Reina Sofía presents alhacena, a Welcoming new space of resT within collection. CONTEMPORARY art: 1975–present

• Through this space, the Museo goes one step further, showing not only art but also care for those who come to observe it.

• The project introduces pieces and materials into the Reina Sofía by some of the most salient imprints in Spanish contemporary design.     

• Sustainability runs centrally through Alhacena (Pantry): a large-scale, twenty-nine-metre armoire built from surplus wooden boards. 

Every house has a kitchen, a place of conversation, learning, work, rest and daily occurrences. With Alhacena, pantry or cupboard in English, the Museo Reina Sofía incorporates this spirit into the exhibition route of Collection. Contemporary Art: 1975–Present. Designed by Jorge Penadés (Málaga, 1985), this new and welcoming room introduces, for the first time, a domestic element to the Museo, offering a place of restful reflection, shared conversation or somewhere to just be. For visiting a museum also means to inhabit it. 

Located on Floor 4 of the Sabatini Building, Alhacena was conceived by Jorge Penadés after he won an open call established jointly by the Museo Reina Sofía and MANERA Magazine to create a new space to enhance the visitor experience, offering the public the chance to take a break from the artworks on display. Thus, Alhacena is a place for learning, encounter, reading, education activities and rest.   

Penadés’s submission was selected for more comprehensively meeting the functional, museographic and sustainable criteria established for the space, with the jury emphasising its capacity to factor the idea of domesticity into the Museo, its modular and repairable system, and its reuse of materials, as well as its sensibility towards the Sabatini Building’s historical architecture.   

More information in the full press release.  

With the collaboration of:

Carsan Ebanistería
Garnica
Grupo Lamadrid
Häfele
Marset
Nanimarquina
Sancal