Museo Soumaya is a museum located in MEXICO CITY and designed by Fernando Romero Enterprise which is presented free of charge. Museo Soumaya built for four years and has been open to the public on March 29, 2011. The Museo Soumaya house of one of the most important art collections in Latin America with more than 6200 works of art and 60,000 square feet of exhibition space. The building is located in a former industrial zone that comes from the 1940’s who now presents a very high commercial potential.
This museum holds an important role in reconversion regions, namely as a leading cultural program, it acts as an initiator in the transformation of urban perception. Its avant – garde morphology and typology defines a new paradigm in the history of Mexican and international architecture. From the outside, the building is organic and asymmetrical shapes are perceived differently by each visitor, while reflecting the diversity of the collection inside.
Heterogeneous collection is housed in a continuous exhibition space spread over six levels, which represents about 60,000 ft². This building also includes an auditorium for 350 people, libraries, offices, restaurants, souvenir shops and a multi-purpose meeting room.
The shell of the building is constructed with 28 steel curved columns of different diameters, each with its own geometry and shape, offering the visitor a soft non-linear circulation all through the building. Located at each floor level, seven ring beams provide a system that braces the structure and guarantees its stability. The top floor is the most generous space of the museum; its roof is suspended from an impressive cantilever that allows natural daylight to flow in freely.
In contrast, the building’s envelope is nearly opaque, offering little and scarce openings to the outside. This gesture can be interpreted as an intention to create a protected shelter for the art collection. The façade is made of hexagonal aluminum modules that optimize the preservation and durability of the entire building.
“The Museo Soumaya is an extraordinary structure rising up from the earth’s crust as a multi-dimensional icon,” Raymund Ryan, ?Curator, ?The Heinz Architectural Center.
Location: Lago Zurich # 245, Col. Ampliación Granada, Del. Miguel Hidalgo. México DF. C.P. 11320
Completion: Mar 2011
Client/Owner: Fundación Carlos Slim
Architect Office: FREE Fernando Romero EnterprisE
General Contractor: CARSO Infraestructura y Contrucción
Interior Design: FREE + MYT/ CEO-Andrés Mier y Teran
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