The Soumaya Museum is home to a private art collection of nearly 70,000 works from 15th to mid-20th century, including the world’s largest private collection of Auguste Rodin sculptures. Programmed and designed by FR-EE, the museum reflects the eclectic taste of the collector, as well as his desire to create a new cultural institution for the public and the city.
The 150-foot tall structure rises at the heart of a new cultural and commercial district, Plaza Carso, also planned and designed by FR-EE. The museum’s form, a rotated rhomboid supported by 28 curved steel columns of varying size and shape, is clad in a skin of 16,000 hexagonal mirrored-steel, references the traditional colonial ceramic-tiled building facades and gives the museum a diverse appearance depending on the weather and the viewer’s vantage point, while optimizing the preservation and durability of the entire building.
A seven-ring structural system creates cantilevers on multiple sides and stabilizes the museum’s continuous six-level promenade of exhibition, presentation and gathering space. At the top floor, visitors enter a column-free exhibition hall filled with natural light. In addition to galleries, the Soumaya Museum includes a 350-seat auditorium, library, restaurant, gift shop and offices.
Status: Built
Location: Mexico City, Mexico
Firm Role: Architect
Additional Credits: Project: Museo Soumaya
Client: Museo Soumaya “Fundación Carlos Slim”
Completion: 2011
Site: Lago Zurich #245, Col. Ampliacion Granada, Del. Miguel Hidalgo. Mexico DF. C.P. 11320
Construction Area: 17,000 m² (since ground level)
Architect: FR-EE / Fernando Romero Enterprise
Project Regency: Inpros
Civil Constructor: PC Constructores
Façade: Gehry Technologies
FR-EE / FERNANDO ROMERO TEAM:
Fernando Romero and Mauricio Ceballos with: Matthew Fineout, Ignacio Méndez, Sergio Rebelo, Laura Domínguez, Herminio González, Omar Gerala Félix, Ana Medina, Ana Paula Herrera, Mario Mora, Juan Pedro López, Guillermo Mena, Libia Castilla, Raúl García, Manuel Díaz, Alan Aurioles, Ana Gabriela Alcocer, Luis Ricardo García, Iván Ortiz, Tiago Pinto, Juan Andres López, Olga Gómez, Hugo Fernández, Kosuke Osawa, Francisco Javier de la Vega, David Hernández, Jorge Hernández, Joaquín Collado, Mariana Tafoya, Eduardo Benítez, Pedro Lechuga, Thorsten Englert, Luis Fuentes, Luis Flores, Rodolfo Rueda, Víctor Chávez, Max Betancourt, Wonne Ickxs, 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, and Cesar Pérez.
