Since 2008, the ground floor of this beautiful Ducal Palace has been used as a space dedicated to exhibitions and events whose purpose is the economic and social revitalization of the Villa of Medinaceli.

This large space fulfilled greatly the aim of the City Council to attract many people due to the number of activities carried out in it, such as museums, art exhibitions, conferences, symposiums, concerts, municipal activities, etc. For all this it was decided to refurbsih the palace, and specifically cover and protect the courtyard, the artistic-architectural element of greater value of this Palace of the S. XVI. This consists of a 23×23 meter Renaissance portico courtyard, whose sides are formed by two-story stone porticos (half-point arches on the ground floor and carpaneles on the upper floor).

The main objective of the Project was to protect the patio from the weather effects, which together along the time had caused serious conservation problems. The challenge was the correct integration without altering the value of said patio, which was achieved perfectly.

Photo 1: Interior view of the cortyard once the Project is finished.

The state prior to the action was quite deficient because it is a porous stone with little hardness, which makes it easily vulnerable to rain aggression, moisture and ice, increased by the high climatic variations that affect the area in question. Frosts after rain or dew that have penetrated the pores or microcracks of the material, produce a lethal effect as the volume of filtered water increases when freezing, which causes strong internal stresses that tend to crack the material. The users and visitors of the building have been able to verify the detachments of stone fragments daily, some of them of considerable size.

The criteria for the execution of the Project were:

• Prevent water and frost from entering and affecting the porticos.

• Avoid frost and low temperatures.

• Maintain the character of the porticoed enclosure as a ventilation patio and climate exchange of the building.

• Maintain the architectural, artistic, environmental and lighting characteristics of the patio.

Therefore, the cover must be transparent, lightweight, waterproof, resistant, elegant, accessible (for cleaning and maintenance), and must ease the ventilation of the patio, as well as not generate greenhouse effect.

The solution adopted for the transparent cover is based on the formation of large arcs of elliptical directrix, more or less lowered, that cross diagonally above the patio from corner to corner, that is, they fly over the space and the roofs of the perimeter pathways. These two arches form four skirts, triangular in plan, which are actually cylindrical sectors (vault fragments that arise from the upper vertex and lay on each of the sides of the courtyard area). Each of these sectors is covered with other steel arches, whose guideline is more or less a circumference sector.

On this structure formed by the four diagonals and the 32 secondary arches, metal profiles are arranged as beams every 1.20 meters. These beams are used for fixing the self-supporting transparent polycarbonate plates that form the cover. These plates are 4 mm thick and double-sided for greater thermal insulation effect.

Therefore, the explained cover shelters and protects the entire yard and its own canopies. It is a light and transparent cover that respects the autonomy and the characteristics of the building and protects it. The contrast between the lightness, weightlessness and coldness of the deck and the passivity, compactness and warmth of the palace are mutually valuable. Steel and glass, by contrast, allow the stone to be revalued, as the stretched surfaces of the roof revalue the moldings and Renaissance forms.

Perimetrally, it has a rainwater drainage channel. In addition, at the central and highest point of the dome, a metal square ring is arranged, which collects the two diagonal arches. This square serves as a fixation to a glass element that ensures ventilation, and does not allow water to enter. With these constructive elements the rain and the snow will stop affecting the walls of the building, and the cold will be notoriously alleviated. On the other hand, the ventilation will be complemented by constructive perimeter intakes through surrounding garrets.

The work was carried out in November 2012, and since then the ducal palace of Medinaceli has become a center of activities as a tourist, cultural, social and administrative attraction. Being a dynamic element of the activities and the economy of the Villa, Medinaceli is the main “gate” of access to Soria and its beautiful province. All this from a perfect integration of art and Renaissance architecture with current engineering.

Guillermo Megino León