Modernist masonry stabilisation across nine pavilions. UNESCO listed since 1997.
What we did
Hextal served as the lead civil engineering contractor, responsible for all structural design, ground engineering, materials procurement and on-site construction management. Our scope encompassed full lifecycle delivery from mobilisation through commissioning, with integrated environmental monitoring and stakeholder coordination throughout.
Every project begins with a problem no one has solved before.
The challenge
The original Modernist masonry, dating from 1902 and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997, exhibited severe structural distress from decades of deferred maintenance and seismic micro-movement. Any intervention had to satisfy both Spanish heritage regulations and UNESCO advisory body oversight, which prohibited the use of modern cementitious materials on original fabric. Scaffolding loads themselves risked damaging the ornamental ceramic tile work.
The solution
Hextal assembled a specialist heritage team that included masonry conservators, structural engineers and ceramicists. Load was transferred from the original pavilion walls using a reversible steel exoskeleton that bore scaffold weight without surface contact. Lime-based mortars were laboratory-matched to 1902 mix designs using petrographic analysis of extracted cores. Structural reinforcement was achieved through stainless steel helical ties inserted into repointed joints, a technique that is fully reversible and leaves no visible trace.
Mobilisation
Design
Procurement
Construction
Commissioning
Led by Prof. Elena Roig
The project team comprises 340 engineers, site supervisors and specialist subcontractors drawn from across the Hextal Group. Core disciplines include structural engineering, geotechnics, materials science, environmental management and digital delivery. The team operates from a dedicated site office with full BIM coordination capability.
Programme oversight is provided by the Group Executive Committee through quarterly stage-gate reviews. Health and safety performance is reported weekly to the Chief Operating Officer.
Meet the leadership teamMore from the portfolio.
11.392°E
Brenner Base — North Approach, Tube T-3
22.4 km twin-bore alpine tunnel beneath the Stubai range. Hextal led the TBM consortium and the cross-passage civils. Excavated material reused as aggregate within a 40 km radius — net-positive on embedded carbon vs. EN 16627 baseline.
13.369°E
Berlin Hauptbahnhof — Southern Concourse
14,800 m² extension, glass-and-steel canopy spanning four ICE platforms. Built without interrupting service.
4.487°E
Maasvlakte III — Caisson Dry Dock
A 1.2 km automated container quay built on a man-made polder.