Centro Botín

Santander / Spain

The Centro Botín, located on the seafront of Santander in north-western Spain, serves as a vibrant hub for art, culture, and education. Situated within the historic Jardines de Pereda, the project transforms a former car park into a dynamic public space that has revitalized the city. Our design reconnects Santander’s historic center with the Bay of Santander, enhancing pedestrian access and restoring visual links to the sea. By integrating seamlessly with the existing park, the project creates a fluid connection between urban life and the natural waterfront. As the building is raised off the ground, people can move freely under the facility, their trajectory along the waterfront remains unhindered.

A key element of the transformation is the expansion of the Jardines de Pereda, which have doubled in size to nearly ten acres. This was achieved by rerouting the road that once separated the gardens from the seafront into an underground tunnel, uniting the green space with the shore. The Centro Botín, perched on this strategic site, restores a significant location to the city while embracing its maritime heritage. The integration of public space with cultural amenities underscores the project’s mission to inspire community engagement and celebrate Santander’s unique identity.

A group of people are walking in front of a large building

©Bandonthebend

Imagining a landmark to rebuild the relationship to the waterfront

The building is a new landmark on the waterfront, both from a visual and cultural perspective, as well as a means of boosting the activities of the Botín Foundation. Thanks to the Foundation’s diverse cultural and research programmes, the centre drives cultural, social and economic development in Santander as well as creating a civic hub.

By rerouting traffic on the existing Paseo del Muelle into a 200m-long tunnel, the existing Jardines de Pereda can be extended as far as the seafront, doubling its size. The Centro de Arte Botín sits in the new section of the park, right at the water’s edge. To its north, where various routes across the park from the city converge, is a new public plaza. An outdoor amphitheater on the building’s west side can seat 2,000 people for outdoor concerts or film projections.

An aerial view of a large white building next to a body of water

A large building with a lot of windows is lit up at night

A large building is sitting next to a body of water with a city in the background

Reimagining a city’s relationship to its waterfront by rebuilding connections and creating a unique and accessible facility for a dynamic cultural institution

A black and white map of a city with trees and buildings

A functional and intelligent organization that enables operational flexibility

The Centro Botín is composed of two distinct wings—the west wing dedicated to exhibitions and the east wing focused on education—connected by an elevated walkway that extends outward, culminating in a cantilevered platform over the sea. The west wing houses 2,500 square meters of flexible gallery space across two levels, with 5-meter-high ceilings that accommodate a range of exhibitions. The upper level features a skylight system, introducing natural light to select gallery areas and creating an adaptable, luminous environment for the display of art.

The east wing complements the cultural offering with educational facilities, including a versatile 7.5-meter-high auditorium that can seat 300 people. Its modular design allows the seating to be reconfigured or removed entirely to support diverse programming. Above the auditorium, a 255-square-meter multi-purpose space provides additional capacity for workshops and events. The auditorium’s glazed southern façade frames stunning views of the Bay of Santander, enabling performers to appear against the dynamic backdrop of maritime activity, blending culture and the natural landscape in an extraordinary experience.

A group of people standing on a bridge between two buildings

A group of people are standing in front of a glass wall

A group of people are standing on a balcony overlooking a body of water

A group of people are standing under a glass roof

A cross section of a building with trees in the background

A luminous conversation between the sea and the building

Both buildings are raised thanks to supporting columns. Together with the buildings' curved shape, this structure lightens the facility's presence on the site and allows clear views from the park to the sea. The curved edges also draw light and reflections off the water into the space under the building. The exterior is clad with small off-white honed discs that easily adapt to the shape of the building and that also have a shimmering, mother-of-pearl finish, which strengthens the building's luminosity, under Santander’s often grey sky.

A large empty room with four paintings on the wall

A large auditorium filled with red chairs and a stage with a view of the ocean

A woman is standing in front of a large window overlooking the ocean

An aerial view of a floor plan of a building

Details on Foundation website

Centro Botin

Project Details

Status

2010 - 2017

Client

Fundación Botín

Design

Renzo Piano Building Workshop, architectsin collaboration with Luis Vidal + Architects (Madrid)

Design Team

E.Baglietto, M.Carroll (partners in charge), F.Becchi (associate in charge), S.Lafranconi, M.Monti, R.Parodi, L.Simonelli with M.Cagnazzo, P.Carrera, S.Ishida (partner), M.Menardo, A.Morselli, S.Polotti and I.Coseriu, P.Fiserova, V.Gareri, S.Malosikova, T.Wozniak, A.Zambrano; F.Terranova, F.Cappellini, I.Corsaro (models)

Consultants

Dýnamis, Arup, Typsa (structure); Arup, Typsa (MEP, façade); Müller-BBM (acoustics); artec3 Studio, Arup (lighting); Gleeds, Typsa (cost consultant); Fernando Caruncho (landscape)