Okuda launches museum project in abandoned palace in central Santander. A project has been launched in Santander to transform the neo-Mudejar Cortiguera Palace into a contemporary art museum. The initiative comes from Okuda San Miguel. Implementation will require extensive restoration and complex regulatory approvals.
In the center of Santander, after decades of neglect, preparations have begun for the large-scale renovation of the Cortiguera Palace. Artist Okuda San Miguel has proposed turning this unique Neo-Mudéjar building into a contemporary art museum and a venue for creative residencies. The project, provisionally named Museo del Kolor, has already drawn attention to a site that for many years had remained overlooked by authorities and locals.
At the initiative's presentation, the palace's overgrown gardens were opened and cleared for the first time in years. Okuda noted his surprise at how long the building in the very heart of the city had been abandoned. According to him, the idea arose spontaneously—after getting acquainted with the palace's architecture, he immediately saw its potential as a new cultural space. Over two years, the artist’s team developed a museum concept that plans to house an international collection of contemporary art assembled by Okuda over three decades.
The project is still in its early stages: there is no approved museum concept, architectural plan, or timeline. Okuda emphasizes that much will depend on technical conditions and the restrictions associated with the building's protected status. Nevertheless, the initiative envisions an open cultural center with art residencies, educational programs, and social projects. According to the president of the Coloring the World foundation, which oversees the project, the operation of the palace is planned under a long-term concession for 25 years, with the option to purchase during the first three years.
The implementation of the project will require significant investment: restoration alone will cost several million euros. The estimated completion date is 2030, but before that, there are stages of technical assessments, approvals, and complex construction work to be completed. Importantly, all interventions must preserve as much as possible the historic appearance of the building, which was constructed in 1888–1889 at the request of physician Joaquín Cortiguera and architect Atilano Rodríguez. The palace stands out against the urban landscape for its Neo-Mudéjar style, inspired by the Islamic architecture of the Iberian Peninsula.
The emergence of a private initiative, after years of uncertainty surrounding the fate of the palace, has already changed the situation: the site is once again in the spotlight. Okuda emphasizes the personal significance of the project, relating it to his own experience working in abandoned spaces. Similar examples of private investment in cultural infrastructure can be seen in other regions of Spain — for instance, the Barcelona authorities recently allocated €2.5 million to update theaters and cultural centers, as detailed in the article on russpain.com.
For reference: the Cortiguera Palace was built during a period of rapid development in Santander as a private residence and clinic. Its architectural style remains rare for the region. In recent decades, the building has fallen into neglect due to the lack of a unified solution for its use. The new project could serve as an example of how private initiative can help revive the fate of historic sites, if bureaucratic and technical barriers can be overcome.
