Soumaya Museum

What was once considered to be “impossible to build” now holds the title as the “world’s flashiest museum” – with its freestyle form and seemingly invisible façade a dazzling reality that towers over a plaza in Northern Mexico City.

Sitting amid a cityscape of predominantly 1940’s industrial era, Soumaya Museum or Museo Soumaya is home to a private art collection of around 70,000 works from the 15th to the mid-20th century. Its strategic position at the heart of a real estate area naturally enhanced the museum’s role as a catalyst for increased cultural development.

Covering a total area of 170,000 square feet, this “trapezoid in motion” elegantly glides at six storeys into the Mexican skyline. Given its expressive of dramatic curves as if defying gravity, its unique paraboloid form comprises of 28 curved columns. An exterior skin made from 16,000 mirrored steel hexagon pieces formed its shiny façade – which also allowed the building to have distinctly varying appearances depending on the time, weather, and the viewer’s vantage point.

In contrast to its well-illuminated interiors, the building envelope is nearly opaque, with little to no openings to the outside. This approach can then be interpreted as an intention to protect thousands of art collections the museum accommodates.

Soumaya Museum’s interiors can be accessed via a slim entrance located in the building’s façade. Its helical volume called for a distinct form in each of its floor plans. Inside, guests are welcomed with 6,000 square meters of exhibition space. Its topmost floor – the sculpture garden, displays numerous Auguste Rodin sculptures illuminated by a spectacular skylight. Other amenities include a public library, a gift shop, a café, and a 350-seater auditorium.

Museo Soumaya in all of its bedazzled glory serves as a visual example of how architecture gradually develops into a new phase. Walls are bent, natural light is embraced, levels are cantilevered, circulation is free, and gravity is defied – setting the new essentials for offering only the best presentations of art on display.