If there is a city that would dedicate an exhibition center to a freeway, it is undoubtedly Madrid. But it is not necessary to hypothesize: it happened last month at Paseo de la Chopera, 6-10, next to the Palacio de Cristal in Arganzuela. There you can visit the Espacio Madrid Calle 30 & Madrid Río, a new free museum that revolves around two of the city’s major infrastructures: the M-30 and Madrid Río.
In the case of the aforementioned highway , we know that it is much more than that, but not only in the terms in which the City Council of the capital proposes it – “one of the most ambitious urban transformation projects in Europe”-, but also in the terms in which the neighbors do it. As the city council points out, it has been a witness and protagonist of Madrid’s evolution and has meant “a radical change” in the way in which the people of Madrid live their city.
However, this transformation has also meant the appearance of an urban and socioeconomic barrier and a source of pollution that has encouraged the proposal of alternatives such as its burial in points like Puente de Vallecas and, even more, its replacement by a large park.
What can be seen in this new free museum?
Returning to the museum, visitors who come to it will find “a timeline with the most important milestones of the M-30” to the present and a giant model that reproduces the central core of Madrid surrounded by the ring road.
It is not the only one along the route: there are also models of Dulcinea and Tizona, the tunnel boring machines that were used to drill underground and bury the traffic. They are accompanied by videos showing the undergrounding process.
The other protagonist, we said, is Madrid Río, which also has its own model. The exhibition explains “how a traffic barrier was converted into a green corridor” and what consequences it brought about, such as the recovery of ecosystems of the Manzanares River, the increase of green areas or the reduction of noise and environmental pollution.
In addition to the permanent exhibition, the space will offer guided tours, educational workshops and talks. Both the entrance and participation in the activities is free, but in case you want to go in a group or sign up for these activities it is necessary to book in advance.
Opening hours
The center is open weekdays from 9:30 am to 2 pm and from 6 pm to 9 pm; Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 10 am to 2 pm and from 6 pm to 9 pm. Mondays will be closed.
New exhibition centers that have also opened in Madrid
In recent months there have been several proposals that have opened their doors in the capital. In chronological order we have the Architecture Gallery, inside the COAM headquarters, which was born as a space for the dissemination of the architectural heritage of our region.
On the other hand, FÛDO, the first Japanese art gallery in Spain specialized in engraving and dedicated exclusively to landscape, opened its doors in Usera just a few days ago.