Barcelona councillors have approved plans to convert one of the city’s best-known cinemas into a new Carmen Thyssen museum, in a move celebrated by the mayor as a cultural boost but criticised by opposition parties for devoting a quarter of the building to commercial use.
The museum will occupy the former Comèdia cinema, an ornate building in the Eixample district facing onto the Passeig de Gràcia, one of Barcelona’s busiest thoroughfares. Originally constructed as a residence, it was transformed into a theatre in the 1930s and became home to the Comèdia in 1960. Long a well-known landmark, the cinema shut last year after years of declining ticket sales.
Under the plan, the site will be reworked by German practice Casper Mueller Kneer Architects and Barcelona firm OUA. Two cuboid blocks of six and nine storeys will be constructed behind the iconic façade, expanding the building’s floorspace by 45% to nearly 10,000 sq. m. In addition to display space, the design includes a 450-seat auditorium, shops, a restaurant and spaces for educational activities. They will account for roughly 25% of the total surface area.
Not anything goes. We don’t know if this is a museum or a commercial space
The project is being financed by Stoneweg, the Geneva-headquartered private investment company that completed its purchase of the building this year. La Vanguardia newspaper has reported that the firm expects to invest around €100m in total split between acquisition and redevelopment costs.
The museum will be dedicated to the collection of Carmen Cervera, 82, better known as Carmen Thyssen, the Barcelona-born socialite, art collector and former Miss Spain who was once married to the late Baron Hans Heinrich
Thyssen-Bornemisza. Her collection spans Spanish, Catalan and international art, including works by Jan Brueghel the Elder, Auguste Rodin and Paul Gauguin. Parts of it are already displayed in museums she has founded in Málaga, Andorra and Sant Feliu de Guíxols, as well as at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid that was launched in 1992.
Carmen Thyssen’s collection will occupy the museum
Associated Press/Alamy Stock Photo
An agreement with Spain’s culture ministry will see works displayed in Barcelona on a 25-year loan. The list of works to be exhibited has not been made public. Mayor Jaume Collboni said at the project’s launch that the museum would “energise the city by attracting significant artworks to Barcelona and elevating the international profile of Catalan art”.
However, plans have drawn strong criticism. Barcelona en Comú, the left-wing party led by former mayor Ada Colau, attacked the proportion of the building allocated to commercial activities. “Not anything goes,” a party spokesperson said. “We don’t know if this is a museum or a commercial space with a restaurant and retail area.”
Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, another opposition party, objected on conservation grounds, arguing against “drastic changes to the appearance” of the cinema and warning that the city was being asked to adjust regulations without guarantees the collection would remain. Even so, councillors voted to approve the scheme in July. Work is expected to begin later this year.
