Thyssen Museum
Localização: Madrid - Espanha
Tipo de projeto: Empresas, Indústria e Infraestruturas
The Thyssen National Museum, located in Madrid, is one of the leading references for art in Spain and worldwide. Its collection, originally assembled by the Thyssen family, brings together more than 1,000 masterpieces spanning seven centuries of Western art history.
In addition to its permanent collection, the museum is renowned for its temporary exhibitions, educational and cultural programmes, events, and its location in the historic Palacio de Villahermosa, which was carefully restored to house the collection. It is also among the 100 most visited museums in the world, welcoming nearly one million visitors each year.
Números
- 23,125 m²
- 230+ access points
- 1,000,000+ annual visitors
- 65+ exhibition galleries
Thyssen Museum: Invisible security, total control – Case Study
Salto provides us with a secure, scalable, and easy-to-manage smart access platform that has allowed us to achieve the perfect balance between control, security, convenience, and operational efficiency using state-of-the-art smart locking technology.
The Thyssen National Museum is a unique environment housing more than 1,000 masterpieces, requiring a highly rigorous, discreet, flexible, and technologically advanced system for managing spaces and security. The museum comprises a wide variety of areas, including exhibition, meeting and event spaces, catering areas, offices, storage rooms, technical access points, lifts, loading and unloading zones, and areas restricted to the public.
To meet the museum’s needs, a market-leading access control solution capable of handling both high visitor volumes and the museum’s complex day-to-day operational requirements would need to be implemented.
Salto, together with its partner SABICO Seguridad, implemented a comprehensive access control solution based on the Salto Space platform, designed to meet the museum’s security and management needs. The solution combines autonomous access control using Salto SVN (Salto Virtual Network) technology with BLUEnet online connectivity, enabling efficient, flexible, and real-time access management to respond to any requirement or incident.
Thanks to this hybrid architecture, the system ensures continuous 24/7 operation, simplifies the administration of multiple user profiles, and enables precise management of critical access points organised by zones. It also helps optimise movement flows throughout the building, delivering a smooth and user-friendly access experience adapted to daily operations.
By combining SVN-Flex and BLUEnet technology, credentials are updated dynamically and securely across the entire site without the need to wire each access point. This wireless architecture allows for flexible management in environments with multiple access points and varying authorisation levels.
The system offers an optimal balance between security, efficiency, and scalability. It currently manages access for more than 200 users, who use both physical credentials – smart key cards and fobs – and the native digital key Salto JustIN Mobile app. This enables secure mobile access with full traceability and a convenient keyless experience for authorised staff, even at offline access points.
Users include a wide range of profiles – from security and maintenance to conservation and curatorial teams – with permissions tailored to specific roles, schedules, and areas. This granular access management reduces operational risks and prevents unauthorised access, even in offline environments, through the combined use of physical credentials and Salto JustIN Mobile for the secure distribution of digital keys on staff smartphones.
The system also integrates with security platforms and the building management system (BMS), providing unified management and monitoring of all devices, while streamlining the work of technical, maintenance, and security teams from central control rooms.
One of the project’s key challenges was preserving the building’s architectural and museographic value. To achieve this, XS4 One electronic locks, Design XS wall readers, and Neo electronic cylinders were installed with specially selected finishes that harmonise with both the historic and modern elements of the museum. The solution covers perimeter access, technical rooms, evacuation routes, and strategic internal areas, all connected within the Salto Space platform ecosystem to ensure an immediate response to any incident.
As an additional security measure, the museum has also installed Neoxx electronic padlocks to ensure effective night-time locking, protecting both spaces and collections when the building is closed to the public.
Principais benefícios
- 24/7 security: Continuous access control throughout the museum, with immediate incident response.
- Centralised and flexible access management: Precise administration of user profiles, with permissions assigned by role, schedule, and area to reduce risk and prevent unauthorised access.
- Dynamic credential and locking plan updates: Salto SVN-Flex and BLUEnet enable updates from anywhere in the building, without needing to hardwire every access point.
- Smooth, user-friendly experience: Supports both physical credentials and mobile access via Salto JustIN Mobile for secure, frictionless use by authorised staff.
- Scalability and future-proofing: Hybrid architecture allows the system to be easily expanded or adapted to operational changes, new spaces, or user growth.
- Integration with building systems: Seamless integration with the BMS for unified management and monitoring.
- Respect for architectural and museographic value: Devices and finishes are carefully selected to blend with the museum’s historic and modern environment.
- Enhanced out-of-hours protection: Safeguards both spaces and collections when the museum is closed to the public.
The Thyssen National Museum has placed its trust in Salto to protect not only its valuable collection, but also the operations and security of an environment as complex and demanding as a national museum. Thanks to Salto's access control platform and its smart locking solutions for each access point, the museum is at the technological forefront of the cultural sector, without compromising its identity or the experience of staff and visitors.
