LA TALLERA, Cuernavaca
Invited Competition, 2nd place
The ‘Tallera’ is an impressive ensemble of buildings located in Cuernavaca where the well known muralist David A. Siqueiros build his private house and industrial ateliers to work on his large scale murals. In this competition, the architects were asked to reorganize the existing structures to convert them into a modern museum complex including a cafeteria, bookshop, flexible spaces for workshops, a library, archives and residences for artists and researchers.
We decided to incorporate part of the existing private garden into the museum area to take advantage of its beautiful trees and create shaded areas. A new wall was erected to separate the public areas from the private ones and three simple new volumes were attached it to organize the newly added program. An open and flexible museum complex resulted in which all interior spaces are in direct contact with the exterior patios and plazas. The main square with the existing murals became a flexible area in which all kind of activities could be realized: from open air exhibitions, to concerts or large scale celebrations.
Collaborators: Rocío Carvajo, Diego Escamilla, Antonio Espinoza, Iván Villegas / Location: Cuernavaca, Mexico / Type: Public Building - Museum Adaptation / Organisation: Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura + Asociación de Amigos de la Sala de Arte Público – La Tallera / Date: May 2010 / Invited competition: 2nd place