A grand cultural promenade will link higher art studies to Palma's future Arts District

PalmThe future Arts District of Palma will be structured around a large, nearly 30-meter-wide central promenade lined with vegetation, connecting all the buildings, concentrating the common areas, and becoming the complex's main public space. The project includes the construction of 22,315 square meters dedicated to higher arts education, with new auditoriums, a theater, a conference hall, a cultural agora, and open workspaces and meeting areas for both students and the public. The design will be carried out by the joint venture (UTE) formed by the firms Coll-Leclerc Arquitectos and Barceló-Balanzó Arquitectos, winners of the design competition held by the Ministry of Education and Universities with their proposal. It was bornThe project, with a total budget exceeding 53 million euros, is one of the Government's most ambitious initiatives in educational infrastructure. The new buildings will be erected next to the existing Conservatory, which, once the works are completed, will house only professional music and dance studies. "We want to create synergies between higher artistic education, which is currently isolated due to its location," said the Minister of Education, Antoni Vera, during the presentation of the winning proposal. He indicated that construction is expected to begin during the first four months of 2027.

The new UIB student residence and the new high school planned for the area—considered necessary to alleviate overcrowding at surrounding schools—are being processed as separate projects. The complex will include three new buildings: the Higher Conservatory of Music, the new Higher School of Dramatic Art of the Balearic Islands (ESADIB), and the Higher School of Design. Common areas will include a library, a restaurant/café, the administration area for higher artistic studies, and multipurpose outdoor spaces. The entire complex will be integrated into a large urban park and will provide architectural continuity to the existing Palma Conservatory, with a gradual transition in height and a connection via a bridge.

"It's one of our most ambitious projects. The goal is to create an innovative educational environment that will give visibility to higher artistic education and improve student access by bringing together three buildings that are currently scattered throughout the city," Vera stated. "It's a project for future generations," she added. The winning preliminary design extends the existing Conservatory building and organizes the new Arts District around the central promenade, conceived as a public space for interaction and relaxation. This axis will house workspaces with tables for students, multipurpose spaces for small performances and outdoor educational activities, dining areas, and a cultural agora covered by a large photovoltaic pergola. Promoting culture

Along the promenade, the new cultural facilities will be centralized: a new auditorium, a theater, and a conference hall, which will complement the Conservatory's existing auditorium. From the entrance on Alfons el Magnànim Street, one will find the library, the new entrance to the current auditorium, the orchestra hall open to the exterior, and a connecting walkway to the first floor of the buildings. The complex will be completed with vegetation, green spaces, and a new bar, an expansion of the Conservatory's current services.

The Higher Conservatory of Music will be the first building in the complex from the main entrance. It will have an area of 8,541 square meters and will include a 310-square-meter orchestra hall with direct access to the exterior and retractable seating to allow for diverse uses. It will also have a 109-square-meter heart room and 72 classrooms for theory, piano, jazz instruments, strings, and wind instruments, as well as recording studios, research spaces, faculty rooms, a reception area, and offices. Next to it will be the new ESADIB headquarters, with a total area of 5,245 square meters. The building will have a performing arts hall with adaptable acoustics for theater, dance, and other uses, with a stage area of 118 square meters and an audience area of 289 square meters, as well as dressing rooms, classrooms, a dubbing studio, and a workshop/laboratory. The Escola Superior de Disseny (School of Design) will occupy an area of 6,767 square meters and will have a 300-square-meter conference room, in addition to classrooms, workshops, storage rooms, multipurpose rooms, and support spaces such as a reception area and faculty lounges.