MX_SI + SPRB chosen to complete papalote children's museum in mexico city

MX_SI + SPRB chosen to complete papalote children’s museum in mexico city
all images courtesy of MX_SI / SPRB

the winner of a national architecture competition for the construction of the papalote children’s museum in iztapalapa, mexico city has been announced. the jury unanimously agreed to award first prize to the joint team of barcelona-based studio MX_SI and SPRB, a practice based in guadalajara, mexico. the competition had attracted 171 submissions, with the future facility scheduled to open in 2017.

a public space serves as a meeting place at street level

the scheme opens up the museum through the formation of a continuous space between the adjacent plaza and the ground floor of the new building. the public space serves as a meeting place at street level and is a response to its urban setting. the structure is set back from the street, generating an urban plaza that serves as an extension to the museum. access to the new institution is via a diffuse boundary — a forest of column walls that filters visitors inside of the complex.

the external plaza continues inside the building

public facilities are positioned on the ground floor, with exhibition galleries located on the upper storeys. a mezzanine level contains a variety of multipurpose rooms alongside the foyer of the IMAX cinema and a theater. the different levels each include an outdoor space with specific characteristics, such as terraces and gardens.

the walls form an ‘abstract forest’ that references the famous tree — ‘árbol del tule’

the building’s floor plan is laid out in 10-meter strips, comprising exposed concrete screen partitions that are united under a V-shaped roof. these walls form an ‘abstract forest’ that references the famous ‘árbol del tule’ — a local tree that boasts the world’s stoutest trunk. the grouping of modules according to a strategy of horizontal and vertical movement generates the volume of the new museum.

sectional drawing indicating the scheme’s spatial layout

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project info:

competition: july 2015
construction: 2017
site: iztapalapa, mexico city
surface: 17,500 sqm
budget: 275,000,000 MXN (aprox.)
client: papalote museo del niño

MX_SI architectural studio
architects: mara partida, boris bezan, héctor mendoza
collaborators: olga bombac, oscar fabian espinosa

SPRB arquitectos
architects: laura sánchez penichet, carlos rodríguez bernal
collaborators: ricardo valdivia, lidia nájera, claudia bucio

structural engineer: BEST consultoría estructural barcelona
nacho costales, carlos jaen
BEST consultoría estructural guadalajara
ing. andrés velasco