Images by BIG
Images source: Designboom
When superstar Shakira needed a venue for her ongoing show in her Madrid residency, a standard concert arena simply would not suffice. Instead of renting an existing stadium, she partnered with the global architectural firm, renowned Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to construct an entire temporary city across an 185,000-square-meter plot at the Iberdrola Music venue in Villaverde. Originally featured on Designboom, this visionary project, dubbed Macondo Park, adically rethinks how live entertainment and architecture intersect.
Redefining the Global Entertainment Arena
Macondo Park shatters the mold of traditional concert venues by shifting the focus from a single focal stage to an immersive, sprawling cultural ecosystem. Rather than funneling tens of thousands of fans into a concrete bowl just hours before showtime, BIG designed an environment that functions like a living, breathing town.
Capable of hosting over 50,000 spectators, the space integrates a massive performance arena with vibrant markets, culinary hubs, art galleries, fashion showcases, cinema zones, and family-friendly areas. By decentralizing the experience, the project transforms a routine concert into a multi-dimensional cultural festival, proving that the future of global entertainment lies in destination-building rather than mere stagecraft.
Shakira’s Temporary City and Madrid’s Local Economy
The economic and social ripple effects of Macondo Park on Madrid are profound. By erecting a pop-up metropolis dedicated to Latin American culture, fashion, and gastronomy, the project acts as a massive economic catalyst for the local region.
It draws international tourism, bolsters hospitality and vendor networks, and transforms an otherwise industrial or underutilized event ground into a vibrant urban node. Furthermore, because the temporary city is designed with a circular lifecycle in mind, its economic footprint is matched by sustainable resourcefulness: the artificial turf is destined for local schools and playgrounds, the hundreds of newly planted trees will return to nurseries, and the modular building components will find new life elsewhere.
BIG’s Architectural Prowess and Design Inspiration
At the heart of BIG’s design inspiration is a brilliant synthesis of literature, logistics, and landscape. Named after the fictional town in Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece One Hundred Years of Solitude, Macondo serves as a spatial framework rather than a literal replica.
Faced with a tight six-month design timeline and an assembly window of just ten days, BIG’s team, led by Associate and Design Lead Stefani Fachini de Araujo, leveraged the everyday infrastructure of large-scale events. By reimagining standard scaffolding, trusses, shipping containers, and stage supports, and wrapping them in vibrant, colored fabrics, they birthed a family of striking architectural pavilions with a pragmatic skeleton.
Crafting Anticipation through Choreographed Journeys
One of the most remarkable takeaways from BIG’s concept is how architecture can spark celebration long before the main headliner ever takes the stage. Unlike conventional venues where movement is purely functional, BIG carefully choreographed the visitor’s journey from the moment they arrive.
Guests enter through colorful Es Latina welcoming arches that branch out into color-coded pathways. These distinct routes guide visitors across the site toward 12 temporary pavilions, eight of which celebrate the pillars of Latin American culture, ultimately converging at a central Macondo Tree that acts as a community town square.
Over 500 trees and planted islands break down the immense scale of the venue, offering natural shade and humanizing the space. This meticulous planning ensures that the anticipation builds organically through exploration, discovery, and communal gathering throughout the day.
A New Global Standard for Cultural Design?
Macondo Park successfully demonstrates how inventive temporary architecture can deliver high-impact experiences without permanent environmental costs. By turning logistics into a canvas, prioritizing total circularity, and orchestrating public engagement before the music even starts, BIG and Shakira have established a pioneering blueprint.
Whether this exact model becomes a widespread industry standard remains to be seen, but it has undeniably raised the bar, proving that the future of music architecture is immersive, temporary, deeply cultural, and brilliantly sustainable.
Project Info:
Project Name: Shakira stadium
Design Studio: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)
Location: Madrid, Spain
Dates: September 18 to October 11, 2026
Editorial Note: At Buildace Magazine, we publish this feature in good faith, with full attribution to Designboom as the primary source for the original project coverage. We celebrate the design prowess and unmatched creativity of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) as they continue to shape the future of global architecture.
Alex Kabiru
Architecture Editor, Buildace Magazine