representing approximately 6,000 m². the building also includes an auditorium for 350 people,
library, offices, a restaurant, a gift shop and a multi-purpose gathering lounge.
It will be the second museum opened by carlos slim, a mexican business magnate; it is named after his late wife, and it will house slim's collection of artwork by auguste rodin, considered the biggest outside france.
photo by ana paula herrera
photo by adam wiseman
The soumaya museum is located on a former industrial zone dating from the 1940’s which today
presents a very high commercial potential. the soumaya museum plays a key role in the
reconversion of the area: as a preeminent cultural program, it acts as an initiator in the transformation
of the urban perception. moreover, its institutional status activates the public space with functionalities
other than commercial and grants the new neighborhood the urban intensity it required.
In order to create a new identity for the site, the building needed to acquire a strong urban presence.
thus, the soumaya museum was conceived as a sculptural building that is both unique and contemporary.
its avant-garde morphology and typology define a new paradigm in the history of mexican and
international architecture.
From the outside, the building is an organic and asymmetrical shape that is perceived differently
by each visitor, while reflecting the diversity of the collection on the inside. indeed, the work to be
exposed contains amongst others the second biggest collection of rodin sculptures in the world,
several authors of medieval and renaissance art, as well as impressionist painters.
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.
model
render by juan pedro lopez
render by juan pedro lopez
render by juan pedro lopez
credit: gehry technologies
credit: gehry technologies
credit: gehry technologies
programmatic distribution diagram
structural diagram
circulation diagram
air-conditioning diagram
Many of you might be interested in coverage of Fernando Romero/LAR’s Soumaya Museum, currently under construction in Mexico City. The structure of the building is comprised of a columns of differing diameter, which gives the outer shell its form. The primary material is translucent concrete (concrete with glass fiberoptic fibers embedded in it)
project credits
architect: lar / fernando romero and mauricio ceballos
client: grupo carso / museo soumaya
estimated completion date: 2010
location: lake zurich , expansion col. granada, del. miguel hidalgo. mexico city,
total area: 17.000 m2
breakdown: exhibition halls (6000 m2), auditorium (350 seats), leisure (150 children),
library (3000 books), shops, restaurants and cafeteria (140 seats),
main hall (mixed-use space for 600 people ), storage (2500m2),
general service areas, offices (50 employees), staff area and parking (460 vehicles).
façade: gehry technologies
engineer concept: arup los angeles
project regency: inpros
civil constructor: pc constructores
architecture team
ana medina, herminio gonzalez, omar gerala félix, sergio rebelo, ana paula herrera,
mario mora, juan pedro lópez, guillermo mena, libia castilla, raúl garcía, manuel díaz, alan aurioles,
ana gabriela alcocer, luis ricardo garcía, ivan ortiz, tiago pinto, laura dominguez, juan andres lopez,
olga gomez, hugo fernandez, jason sidelko, eddy slim, nicola, davolio, lee warren, alexander pena,
jacqueline hernandez, kosuke osawa, francisco javier de la vega, david hernandez, jorge hernandez,
joaquín collado, mariana tafoya, eduardo benítez, pedro lechuga, thorsten englert, luís fuentes,
luís flores, rodolfo rueda, víctor chávez, max betancourt, wonne icks, dolores robles-martínez,
sappho van laer, ophelie chassin, elena haller, abril tobar, diego eumir jasso, albert beele,
homero yánez, cynthia meléndez, hugo vela, susana hernández, gerardo galicia, alberto duran,
camilo mendoza, dafne zvi zaldívar, cecilia jiménez, ángel ortiz, raúl antonio hernández,
alma delfina rosas, wendy guillen, raúl flores, daniel alejandro farías, jesús monroy, saúl miguel kelly,
iván javier avilés, cesar pérez.
engineers
structure: colinas de buen
steel producer: swecomex
mep: dypro
hydraulic, sanitary installation and fire protection: garza maldonado y asociados
electric installation: hubard bourlon
security / IT & A/V: sitcom
consultants
museographer: museo soumaya / alfonso miranda
interior & landscape: mier y teran and inside outside / petra blaisse
lighting: lighteam & arquitectura de la luz
vertical transport: kone & arsenio rodríguez consulting
kitchen: sanborns
auditorium: teletec
environmental graphics: museistica / adriana miranda
acoustic: saad acústica
FREE Fernando Romero EnterprisE have completed this anvil-shaped museum in Mexico City, with a windowless facade composed of hexagonal aluminium tiles.
The Museo Soumaya is constructed of 28 steel curved columns with different diameters and geometries, which create its irregular form.
The building widens at the top, where a roof suspended from a cantilever allows natural daylight onto the top floor gallery.
The museum will house over 6,200 Latin American artworks in a continuous exhibition space spread across six storeys, as well as an auditorium for 350 people, a library, offices, a restaurant, a gift shop and a lounge.
Completion of Museo Soumaya
FREE Fernando Romero EnterprisE Mexico City–Designed by FREE Fernando Romero EnterprisE, Museo Soumaya opened to the public on March 29, 2011 after four years of development. The Museo Soumaya houses one of the most important art collections in Latin America with over 6,200 artworks and 60,000 square feet of exhibition space.
The Soumaya Museum is located in a former industrial zone dating from the 1940’s which today presents a very high commercial potential. The Soumaya Museum plays a key role in the reconversion of the area: as a preeminent cultural program, it acts as an initiator in the transformation of the urban perception. Its avant-garde morphology and typology define a new paradigm in the history of Mexican and international architecture.
From the outside, the building is an organic and asymmetrical shape that is perceived differently by each visitor, while reflecting the diversity of the collection on the inside. Its heterogeneous collection is housed in a continuous exhibition space spread over six levels, representing approximately 60,000 ft². The building also includes an auditorium for 350 people, library, offices, a restaurant, a gift shop and a multi-purpose gathering lounge.
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: March 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
