Title

Author(s)

Luis del Campanar Santos Muñoz

Affiliation

University of Santiago de Compostela,

DOI

https://doi.org/10.65686/IISM8149

Keywords

Bullrings, Roofing, Heritage

PP

841-848

How to Cite

Santos Muñoz, Luis del Campanar. “Bullrings Roofing in Spain Functional Solutions for a Heritage Future.” In Proceedings of the International Conference on Adaptive Reuse. Volume 1, edited by Andrea Crudeli, Francesca Molle, and Emanuele Carrai, 841–848. Firenze: STH Press, 2026.

Abstract

This paper analyzes the incorporation of roofs in historic bullrings in Spain as functional strategies to ensure their preservation as architectural heritage and extend their use beyond bullfighting. Since the end of the twentieth century, significant cases have been developed: Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1986), Zaragoza (1990), Pontevedra (1996), Tarragona (2008), and Villena (2011). The study demonstrates how various technical solutions—ranging from textile to glass or retractable to fixed—enable these buildings to operate as year-round multipurpose venues, overcoming the climatic limits of their roofless typology. These cases contrast with Las Arenas in Barcelona (2011). Its radical facadism intervention, designed by architects Richard Rogers and Alonso Balaguer for the sake of preserving the architectural values of its Neo-Mudejar style, constitutes an extreme example of adaptive reuse. Its interior was integrally emptied to transform the building into a modern shopping center within a political and social context in Catalonia that had turned against bullfighting. The growing challenge to bullfighting from animal-rights debates frames the broader objective of this paper. It reflects on roofing solutions as a conservation tool in view of their heritage future, considering criteria of compatibility of uses and explicitness of alteration as key factors in securing the survival of this uniquely versatile architectural type.

Edited by
Andrea Crudeli
Francesca Molle
Emanuele Carrai

Publisher
STH Press, Firenze

ISBN Paperback – 9791281661141
ISBN Ebook – 9791281661158
DOI – https://doi.org/10.65686/SISY7263

Year
2026

Proceedings of
International Conference on Adaptive Reuse
hosted by The University of Pisa, Italy
15-19 September 2025, at the Gispoteca di Arte Antica dell’Università di Pisa.