SOUMAYA MUSEUM FERNANDO ROMERO
JULIA KOUTROULIS 350577
DESIGN PHILOSOPHY The Soumaya museum is located in a former industrial zone dating from the 1940ʼs. The area today presents high commercial potential. The museum plays a role in transformation of the area as a preeminent cultural program. It indicates the transformation of the urban perception. It defines a new paradigm in history of Mexican and international architecture with itʼs use of interesting morphology and topology through parametric design. The building was designed to be perceived differently by each visitor, its organic form was intended to reflect the diversity of the collection on the inside. The shell of the building was constructed with 28 steel curved columns of different diameters, each with a different geometry and shape creating a non-linear circulation through the building. Ring beams provide braces around the structure at each level insuring stability.
JULIA KOUTROULIS 350577
DEFENSE/ CRITIQUE This design expresses benefits of the use of parametric design and contemporary scripMng/ programming cultures, as stated my Kolarevic Architecture in the digital age‐Kolarevic) parametric designs can provide for ‘powerful concepMon of architectural form by describing a range of possibiliMes, replacing in the process stable with variable, singularity and mulMplicity’ This design conceptualizes a form with faces that are variable and not stable producing a result that could not as efficiently be achieved by any other process. If we focus on the top floor we see a suspended roof from a canMlever that allows natural light flow, the building also fulfils funcMon as well as design intent by protecMng art from the outside due to lack of openings. In terms of discourse the building was required to create a new idenMty for the site and have a strong urban presence. The building is sculptural and quite unique which can be credited to its process of design and contemporary programming cultures. RESOURCES: All images sourced from DesignBoom: hap://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/11789/soumaya‐ museum‐by‐fernando‐romero‐architects.html hap://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/9/view/13930/soumaya‐ museum‐now‐open‐fernando‐romero‐interview.html
JULIA KOUTROULIS 350577