peggy guggenheim's great-grandson creates tulum's treehouse version of a museum

conceived by the grandson of peggy guggenheim, IK LAB, a contemporary art gallery that recently opened in tulum, mexico, promises to transcend the traditional confines of the art museum. the gallery is experienced in part by your feet and through the various materials encountered as visitors navigate the immersive treehouse-like structure.

all images by fernando artigas, courtesy of IK LAB

set within the grounds of the eco-friendly azulik resort, the gallery is the brainchild of the resort’s founder and self-taught architect jorge eduardo neira sterkel. despite its heavy use of timber, no trees were used in the construction of the space made up a series of twisting, undulating floors and doorways. large round windows give way to natural light which permeates the space built of walls which have been reinforced with transparent fiberglass.

far from the clinical aesthetic of most art spaces, visitors are invited to walk barefoot interacting with the floor as a living organism. from polished cement to raw wooden floors in bejuco wood, a vine-like plant native to the region, varying degrees of hot and cold pull focus to the surrounding nature.

IK LAB‘s gallery extends to a domed structure which rises 12-meters above ground and has been built according to ancient principles of sacred geometry. the organic shapes and meandering expanses of the unique exhibition space intend to immerse the visitor in a meditative state, serving as a gateway to discovery and connectedness.

‘my history with tulum is deep-rooted, and this project is very close to my heart‘, santiago rumney guggenheim, director of IK LAB, comments. ‘IK LAB is more than a gallery, it aspires to provide a framework for the world’s finest creative minds to interact with the gallery’s visionary architecture and explore new ways of creation.’

the gallery opened on april 20, 2018 with its inaugural exhibition alignments, curated by santiago r. guggenheim. the show features works by tatiana trouvé, artur lescher and margo trushina, exploring the human journey through both physical and metaphysical realms.

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