Soumaya Museum

Project Status: Completed
Project Year: 2010-2011
Client: Private
Area: 16,000 m2
Use: Museum
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Team: MCxA in collaboration with LAR
Awards: 2013 Architizer A+, 2012 Spark Award, 2012
American Property Awards, 2011 WAF Finalist,
Barcelona, 2010 Travel + Leisure, Best New Museum
Photos: Aberu, Javier Esteve, Erick Aquino and Luis Vidal.

A collaborative design between Mauricio Ceballos and Fernando Romero, the museum was designed for a private art collection of Carlos Slim. An art collection of nearly 70,000 pieces from the 15th to mid 20th century, including the most massive Auguste Rodin sculptures. Designed as an iconic building to develop a new real state zone (Plaza Carso), the challenge was to design, develop, and construct the museum using only local labor and technology. A tubular structure of 28 columns, was the base for the general 150-foot tall structure. The cladding was designed using simple concepts; 17,000 hexagons were built and installed in a record of 6 months.