‘amparo museum intervention’ by ten arquitectos, puebla, mexico

image © luis gordoa

all images courtesy of ten arquitectos

 

 

the amparo museum is located within the historical city center of puebla and houses one of the most important collections of art and historical artifacts in all of mexico. while the existing structure is composed of various colonial buildings, the intervention and rehabilitation by mexixo city-based firm ten arquitectos is a glazed protrusion from the cultural bastion. the architectonic gesture posits a new way of walking through the museum’s ample collection. the addition of the windowed vestibule encourages a dialogue between the collections, which range from precolombian works to seminal pieces by frida kahlo, vicente rojo, manuel felguérez and the like. the space additionally makes for an opportunity for the museum to curate rotating exhibitions– a factor that automatically increases the relevance of the institution for a fresh demographic. the reimagined architecture creates terraces and gardens while motivating visitors to know another side of the city of puebla. the particular urban landscape has been a historical crux in the development of mexico; now it’s domes, towers, churches and terrain are reframed for a new era. 

 

 

 

 

ten arquitectos: amparo museum, puebla, mexico - 2view of vestibuleimage © luis gordoa

 

 

ten arquitectos: amparo museum, puebla, mexico - 3image © luis gordoa

 

 

ten arquitectos: amparo museum, puebla, mexico - 4the new emerging volume offers views of the surrounding urbanity

image © luis gordoa

 

 

ten arquitectos: amparo museum, puebla, mexico - 5historic downtown skyline view from the deck

image © luis gordoa

 

 

ten arquitectos: amparo museum, puebla, mexico - 6new vertical circulation visually connects the ground floor to puebla´s landscape

image © luis gordoa

 

ten arquitectos: amparo museum, puebla, mexico - 7view of gallery

image © luis gordoa

 

 

ten arquitectos: amparo museum, puebla, mexico - 8stairs keep the visually light aesthetic

image © luis gordoa

 

 

ten arquitectos: amparo museum, puebla, mexico - 9ample glazing characterizes the intervention

 

 

ten arquitectos: amparo museum, puebla, mexico - 10night view of north deck with planters made from local handcrafted “talavera”

image © luis gordoa

 

 

ten arquitectos: amparo museum, puebla, mexico - 11

ten arquitectos: amparo museum, puebla, mexico - 12floor plan

 

 

ten arquitectos: amparo museum, puebla, mexico - 13long section

 

 

 

project info:

 

location: puebla, mexicoarchitect: enrique norten /ten arquitectosyear of design: 2009year of completion: 2013program: museum, lobby, auditorium, gift shop, restaurant, offices, lecture rooms and storage.project team: enrique norten, salvador arroyo, carlos salas, alejandro solis, marisol moreno, daniel hernández, omar barcenas, luis farfán, farid hernandez.area: 129,200 sf of constructionclient: amparo foundationcost: $400 million mexican pesos