Last Fall Break: Mexico City (Part 3)

Last part of the Fall break series. I will be showing the International Museum of the Baroque designed by Toyo Ito and an exhibition of Zaha Hadid Architects at MUAC! 

International Museum of the Baroque / Toyo Ito / 2016

The project is actually not in Mexico City! It is located at Puebla, a historical town known for its colonial architecture and pottery, Puebla was able to house this project because of its abundant Baroque architecture heritage.

The Internationa Museum of the Baroque finished in the same year as the Taichung Opera House. Both projects share some similarities in the design language although the concepts were different. The project sits right next to a highway exit with high traffic pattern up front, which is rather unusual for a museum project like this. It could be an attempt for Puebla to develop its ourskirt area. 

The museum is composed by walls of concrete (each is roughly formed by 12 panels) that follow an altered grid that experiments with different skylight conditions. The museum has an exhibition on the project itself, which does a great job explaining the design process. Please refer to the photos attached below.

The project follows three concepts that were inspired from the Baroque art: Movement, Chiaroscuro, and the relation between man and nature. 

The adjustments for the grid according to movement and programs. 

Three types of skylight: maximum opening, medium opening, and minimum opening.

The result is a very unique and intriguing museum space with different skylights in the transitional spaces. Each showroom contains massive collection of Baroque Art and artifacts. 

As mentioned above, three types of skylight: maximum opening, medium opening, and minimum opening between the showrooms.

The museum consists of two levels, the exhibitions are host in the double-height lower level, and the library, lab, restaurant, and offices are on the second level. There is also a giant whirlpool installation at the center of the courtyard that concludes all the concepts together. 

There are a lot of details in design as well, even though the architect couldn't fully control the quality of the construction since the project is abroad, he still managed to maintain certain qualities in smaller scale details. 

Toyo Ito's team designed the street lights, bike rack, the trash can, the fire extinguisher holder, and even the placement of the vines aligns with tiles. 

We were able to stay til sunset and see the lighting design. The majority of the lightings are hidden between the concrete walls so they can wash the walls with indirect lighting and reveal the curvature and sihoulette of the concrete. 

Overall, I think it is significant for Puebla to have this museum both for the economical growth and education. I saw some school fieldtrips going on when I visited, and I am glad that children in Puebla are able to learn about world-class Baroque Art and contemporary architecture. I like the integration between the showrooms and the museum itself. The architect was already thinking about the narrative of the exhibition as he designed the building, which I think is something rare in the industry. It is a fairly complex project, yet Architect Toyo Ito was able to still maintain the clean and pristine outcome. The project is a good example of how to interpret Baroque architecture with contemporary approach.


Zaha Hadid Exhibition at MUAC 

Now we back again to Mexico City! The exhibition is at the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, aka MUAC. It's a contemporary art museum on the campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. I've been to one of Zaha Hadid Architects' exhibition back in Taipei, Taiwan, but this one is actually more complete and up to date. There is also a new installation "Knit Candela" on display that was built on site in the museum. 

I looked into Zaha's work a little closer this semester because of the Internet Archive studio/parametric design. Her work is absolutely phenomenal and game-changing for the whole industry. Zaha and her team created a new discourse that really intergrates architecture with digital design methods. 

This was the first time I designed a studio project with T-spline and grasshopper. My partner and I also looked into the work of MAD architects, and we learned a deeper meaning in terms of forming making and its relationship with construction. In a sense, architecture doesn't change completely, it's just more fluid and dynamic, and the visual impact and the spatial experience are different due to no hard edges and defined geometries. 

One of our precedent studies for the study project is the Dongdaemun Design Plaza. The project influenced us in many ways: its consideration with the site, the programs, and the facade design...etc. 

Zaha Hadid's early paintings are absolutely inspiring. We can see how her philosophy evolved after AA. The ideas of fragments and movement carried over and slowly tranformed through out the years. 

Zaha Hadid Architects never stopped experimenting with new ways of design method and construction technique. This installation showcases the ability to create fixed sculptural form with highly flexible material. 

---

Another installation is 'Knit Candela' dedicated to Félix Candela, a Mexican Architect experimented with hypar (Hyperbolic Paraboloids) architecture from 1940s to 1970s. The materials were trasported from Zurich to Mexico in regular suitcases, and was built on-site in the court yard. 

And that's a wrap for the thanksgiving break series! Mexico City is lovely with beautiful architecture, amazing food and culture. Highly recommended if you don't know where to go for the next vacation!