![Soumaya Museum / FR-EE Fernando Romero Enterprise - Image 1 of 32](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5295/42d3/e8e4/4ead/2a00/0016/newsletter/014_Soumaya_Image_by_Rafael_Gamo_05.jpg?1385513634)
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Architects: FR-EE / Fernando Romero Enterprise
- Area: 17000 m²
- Year: 2011
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Photographs:Rafael Gamo , Adam Weisman, Raul Soria
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Manufacturers: Danpal, Agr, Alta, Aluvisa, ArqT, Bostik, CYVSA, Dimeyco, Fine Floors, Hankö, Industrias Ideal, Kone, Lighteam, Panel Rey, Soprema, Swecomex, Tecnomuro, USG, Ypasa
![Soumaya Museum / FR-EE Fernando Romero Enterprise - Image 5 of 32](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5733/7300/e58e/cee0/7000/001b/newsletter/03_Museo_Soumaya_FREE_Fernando_Romero_photo_Rafael_Gamo.jpg?1462989555)
Text description provided by the architects. The Soumaya Museum is home to a private art collection of nearly 70,000 works from 15th to mid-20th century, including the world’s largest private collection of Auguste Rodin sculptures.
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Programmed and designed by FR-EE, the museum reflects the eclectic taste of the collector, as well as his desire to create a new cultural institution for the public and the city.
![Soumaya Museum / FR-EE Fernando Romero Enterprise - Facade, Windows](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5295/4374/e8e4/4ead/2a00/0017/medium_jpg/016_Soumaya_Image_by_Rafael_Gamo_07.jpg?1385513777)
![](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5733/73f6/e58e/cee0/7000/0023/newsletter/SOUMAYA_Floor_plan_01.jpg?1462989803)
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The 150-foot tall structure rises at the heart of a new cultural and commercial district, Plaza Carso, also planned and designed by FR-EE. The museum’s form, a rotated rhomboid supported by 28 curved steel columns of varying size and shapes, is clad in a skin of 16,000 hexagonal mirrored-steel elements which reference the traditional colonial ceramic-tiled building facades and gives the museum a diverse appearance depending on the weather, time of day and the viewer’s vantage point, while optimizing the preservation and durability of the entire building.
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A seven-ring structural system creates cantilevers on multiple sides and stabilizes the museum’s continuous six-level promenade of exhibition, presentation and gathering space.
![Soumaya Museum / FR-EE Fernando Romero Enterprise - Image 14 of 32](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5733/737f/e58e/ce51/5b00/001a/newsletter/07_Museo_Soumaya_FREE_Fernando_Romero_photo_Adam_Weisman.jpg?1462989687)
At the top floor, visitors enter a column-free exhibition hall filled with natural light. In addition to galleries, the Soumaya Museum includes a 350-seat auditorium, library, restaurant, gift shop and offices.
![Soumaya Museum / FR-EE Fernando Romero Enterprise - Image 3 of 32](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5733/732a/e58e/cee0/7000/001c/medium_jpg/02_Museo_Soumaya_FREE_Fernando_Romero_photo_Adam_Wiseman.jpg?1462989593)
Note: this article was originally published on December 3, 2013.