ensamble studio: cervantes theater in mexico city

‘cervantes theater’ by ensamble studio, plaza carso, polanco, mexico city image © designboom

the cervantes theater by ensamble studio is an underground denoted by a large metallic structure that shoots upward into the public square of plaza carso in mexico city. the madrid-based studio started work on the building in 2007 and it’s scheduled for completion  by the end of this year. even in a semi-complete state, the angular, intersecting design (dubbed the ‘dovela’ ) already provides a striking contrast to the organic form of the adjacent soumaya museum.

the black metal structure dubbed the ‘dovela’ is used to draw attention to the underground theater image © designboom

cervantes theater by ensamble studio image © roland halbe

cervantes theater by ensamble studio image © roland halbe

cervantes theater by ensamble studio image © roland halbe

cervantes theater by ensamble studio image © roland halbe

image © designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

image © designboom

image courtesy of ensamble studio

image courtesy of ensamble studio

construction of the dovela image courtesy of ensamble studio

dovela model image courtesy of ensamble studio

dovela model image courtesy of ensamble studio

dovela model image courtesy of ensamble studio

dovela model image courtesy of ensamble studio

escalators leading down into the theater – the interior of the museum is still under construction and due to be completed by the end of 2012 image courtesy of ensamble studio

image courtesy of ensamble studio

image courtesy of ensamble studio

image courtesy of ensamble studio

image courtesy of ensamble studio

image courtesy of ensamble studio

image courtesy of ensamble studio

image courtesy of ensamble studio

image courtesy of ensamble studio

image courtesy of ensamble studio

image courtesy of ensamble studio

cervantes theater model image courtesy of ensamble studio

cervantes theater model image courtesy of ensamble studio

cervantes theater model image courtesy of ensamble studio

cervantes theater model image courtesy of ensamble studio

cervantes theater model image courtesy of ensamble studio

cervantes theater model image courtesy of ensamble studio

cervantes theater model image courtesy of ensamble studio

cervantes theater model image courtesy of ensamble studio

cervantes theater model image courtesy of ensamble studio

cervantes theater model image courtesy of ensamble studio

floor plan / level 0 image courtesy of ensamble studio

floor plan / level 1 image courtesy of ensamble studio

floor plan / level 2 image courtesy of ensamble studio

floor plan / level 3 image courtesy of ensamble studio

floor plan / level 5 image courtesy of ensamble studio

roof plan image courtesy of ensamble studio

project info:

area: 11,500 m²

ensamble studio team chief architect: antón garcía- abril associate architect: elena pérez, alba cortés team: débora mesa, joaquín gallegos, alba beroiz, jaime alcayde, cristina moya, juan ruiz antón, tomaso boano, federico letizia project management: inpros construction company: grupo pc structural engineering company: colinas de buen