Renovations on the home of Real Madrid, the legendary Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, have been completed by German architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners, the firm announced recently via its social media channels. 

The five-year, $1.91 billion project added a retractable new roof and underground greenhouse to the original design while increasing capacity by 3,000 seats (from approximately 80,000) and adding 240 new VIP suites to the upper levels. Pop star Taylor Swift unofficially inaugurated the new stadium with back-to-back concerts last week. 

"Our design gives form to the ideas of 'movement' and 'dynamism.' The stadium’s massing may appear at first glance to be autonomously determined — but in reality, it dances within tightly defined parameters. It wraps the stadium’s form, which has evolved over time through numerous alterations and additions, in a vibrant way, allowing for new concepts of use and responding to contemporary urban conditions and structural requirements," Founding Partner Volkwin Marg describes.

Spanish outfits L35 Arquitectos and Ribas & Ribas Arquitectos combined with gmp to deliver the project after being named the winners of an international competition in 2014.