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• The Asociación Española para la Protección del Patrimonio Arquitectónico del Siglo 20 promotes the candidature of Hipódromo for being part of the draft list of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport for being regarded as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

• Hipódromo de La Zarzuela would thus become the first World Heritage Site in Madrid, and the first of the Spanish 20th Century, with the exception of Gaudi’s work, to reach this category.

• On October 6th, AEPPAS20 organizes at the Hipódromo a tour of its grandstands, restored by Mr. Jerónimo Junquera, the author of the restoration project, and a symposium. The meeting will be open to all, being required the previous registration.

The Asociación Española para la Protección del Patrimonio del Siglo 20 (Spanish Association for the Protection of 20th Century Heritage) “AEPPAS20” is promoting the candidature of the Site of the Hipódromo de La Zarzuela for its inclusion within the draft list of the Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport, and for its being proposed to the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. AEPPAS20 highlights the cultural meaning and the undoubted universal worth of the Hipódromo de La Zarzuela, which in case of winning this label would become the first site catalogued as such in Madrid and the first of the 20th Century in Spain.

With the goal of contributing to a better understanding of the Hipódromo de La Zarzuela, next Thursday October 6th, AEPPAS20 will organize in this Madrid’s facility an architectonical meeting open to everybody from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. The meeting, under the title “Ciclo AEPPAS20/Recorridos por la Arquitectura del Siglo XX. La obra y su autor”, will consist in a tour of the horse racetracks’ grandstands, followed by a symposium, in which will take part Mr. Jerónimo Junquera (the architect who led the restoration), Mr. Juan Carlos de La Mata (Director for buildings and the natural environment at Patrimonio Nacional), Mr. Juan Carlos Serrano (Secretario General de Hipódromo de La Zarzuela), Mr. Luis Fernández Galiano (architect), Mr. Carlos Baztán (architect), Mr. Francisco Jaquotot (civil engineer), and Mr. José Luis Martínez (jockey).

Hipódromo de La Zarzuela is one of the most emblematic places in Madrid, and it has been part of the life of Madrid’s society during the last century. Its grandstands, which were designed by architects Mr. Carlos Arniches and Mr. Martín Domínguez and by the engineer Mr. Eduardo Torroja have been declared as heritage of cultural interest (BIC) within the Monument category, and are regarded as one of the masterpieces of Madrid’s architecture of the 20th Century, since they meant a significant progress for its time.

The visit to the Hipódromo de La Zarzuela is part of the program of visits organized by AEPPAS20 to emblematic buildings in Spain which are a reference thanks to their architecture, their cultural meaning, or their being integrated within the urban landscape. Their recovery and restoration have been exemplary due to the sensibility displayed, the criteria and the methods used, thus constituting the model to be followed up both by the professionals and by the owners, the authorities and the institutions involved in the intervention, as well as by all those who see them as investment opportunities.

The tour does not pretend to make an in-depth analysis of the architectonical work itself, but knowing how it has withstand the pass of time, how its users lived in it, the problems which arouse with its maintenance and about the changes in its use and functions, how its restoration was planned, …

For being able to take part in this activity it is required to confirm the attendance on the following address: info@aeppas20.org.

About AEPPAS20

The Asociación Española para la protección del Patrimonio Arquitectónico del Siglo 20 “AEPPAS20”, (Spanish Association for the Protection of 20th Century Architectonical Heritage) has as its goal to promote, protect, preserve, and recover the Spanish architectonical and cultural heritage of the 20th Century, which includes complexes, sites, unique architectures and urban or cultural landscapes of the 20th Century, which due to their specific features, their surroundings or their cultural and social meaning, present a special interest, which justifies a special attention.

About Hipódromo de La Zarzuela

HIPÓDROMO DE LA ZARZUELA is part of Patrimonio Histórico Nacional, and its grandstands are regarded as one of Madrid’s 20th Century architectural masterpieces. The facility covers a 110-hectare surface with a high ecological value, and it has first-level facilities on a privileged location within the city of Madrid, which means that the horse racetracks constitute the most important green lung of the Spanish capital, together with the historical El Retiro Park Hipódromo de la Zarzuela celebrates this year its 75th anniversary. For finding out more about this facility and its history, click here.

HIPÓDROMO DE LA ZARZUELA belongs to Grupo SEPI, a corporate holding, which is made up by a total of 15 state-owned companies in which it has direct, majority shareholding participations, with a workforce of more than 73,000 professionals in 2015; the Spanish state-owned television and radio corporation, Corporación Radiotelevisión Española, which is attached to SEPI, and one public foundation. Equally, SEPI has direct minority shareholdings in another nine companies, and indirect ones in more than another one hundred companies.