Sorolla Museum in Madrid reopens its new contemporary extension

The Sorolla Museum in Madrid opens its new contemporary extension on October 15, 2026, doubling its floor space with a new building on Zurbano Street while the historic house and gardens remain temporarily closed for universal accessibility renovations, elmundo.es reported.

The expansion adds more than 2,200 square meters of new infrastructure, including temporary exhibition spaces, an auditorium, and specialized storage areas designed to house the museum’s extensive collections.

Zurbano Street Expansion Opens New Cultural Spaces

Designed by the architectural firm Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos, the new facility on Zurbano Street introduces a contemporary and minimalist aesthetic that reinterprets core design elements of the original 1911 house-studio. Rather than mimicking the historic residence, the new building incorporates contemporary interpretations of light, vegetation, and ceiling skylights. The project enables the institution to host more ambitious temporary exhibitions, allowing Joaquín Sorolla’s work to enter into dialogue with his contemporaries, masters, and modern artists.

The opening coincides with the launch of the temporary exhibition titled Tras la casa del artista. Arquitecturas del Museo Sorolla, 1905-2026, which explores the physical evolution of the museum building over its century-long history.

Historic House and Gardens Remain Closed for Accessibility Renovations

While the new Zurbano facility begins operations, the original historic home and its gardens stay closed to the public as crews begin the second phase of construction. This phase focuses on upgrading infrastructure and installing a vertical elevator within the former service staircase to give visitors with motor disabilities access to the lower patio and upper rooms.

El único espacio donde no ha sido posible suprimir las barreras arquitectónicas son los jardines de la casa Sorolla. No es posible eliminar la cantidad de obstáculos, de escaleras y escalones, de cambios de cota con los que Sorolla los diseñó y que forman parte de la propia personalidad de estos jardines maravillosos.

Enrique Varela