A place for the memory of 66 million years ago. Geology Museum by Estudio MMX

Mexico City-based architecture studio, Estudio MMX, unveils its recently opened Geology Museum located by the beach in the port city of Progreso on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The city is a gateway to the Mayan archaeological sites of Chichen Itza, Uxmal and Dzibilchaltun.

Estudio MMX designed the museum using a grid as a pattern, developing a series of volumes that grow at different heights. Constructively, the museum has been completely covered in chukum (a natural finish of Mayan origin) which improves its durability and facilitates low maintenance costs.

The objective of the "Geology Museum" is to provide information on one of the most important events in the history of planet Earth: the impact of the meteorite that caused the extinction of thousands of species 66 million years ago. The museum was inaugurated this summer with a new name, changing from the Geology Museum to the Meteorite Museum.

Geology Museum by Estudio MMX. Photograph by Dane Alonso

Estudio MMX has designed a structure that evokes ideas of Mayan architecture along with the colonial heritage of the urban layout. A structure that facilitates the connection with the surrounding public space, generating routes accompanied by light, shadow and vegetation that can be crossed to reach the boardwalk. The project is made up of 45 square-based prisms, at whose ends, forming a diagonal, are two large raised gardens that flank the corners of the complex.

The construction has an outdoor forum, gardens, a viewpoint and bodies of water inspired by the cenotes of the State of Yucatan.

The museum, located in the southeast corner of the complex, is made up of eight exhibition volumes that can be subdivided into two larger volumes to allow for a program of permanent exhibition space, multi-purpose space for events or a space for temporary exhibitions. These areas are completed with an office area, a volume of research and catalogue spaces and another for storage.

"The museum consciously synthesizes local Mayan learning with approaches to contemporary architecture, thus generating a new identifiable and appropriable public space for the people of Progreso."

Estudio MMX

Geology Museum by Estudio MMX. Photograph by Dane Alonso.

Geology Museum by Estudio MMX. Photograph by Dane Alonso.

Geology Museum by Estudio MMX. Photograph by Dane Alonso.

Project description by MMX

The project for the new Geology Museum (Progreso, Yucatan) is planned as a cultural and public space element, developed as a single project. The different parts of the program are consciously related to each other and to the context, through different environments in the open space.

The plaza generated by the project is organized on the sides of a central corridor, through which you can access both the interior spaces and cross the plaza towards the boardwalk. Two large raised gardens flank the corners of the square, allowing you to traverse the slopes to enjoy new views at different heights. A contained square generates a landscaped route in front of the public services, which now enjoy a green and shaded area. The museum's cafeteria and workshops are separated from it to serve the entire square, thus allowing the connection of the different activities that the project allows and linking the daily life of the building with the urban dynamics of the city.

The museum, which occupies the southeast corner of the plaza, consists of eight exhibition volumes which can be subdivided into two larger volumes to allow for a permanent exhibition space and another multipurpose space for events or a temporary exhibition, both served by a volume of offices, a volume of research and catalogue spaces and one for a warehouse.

The volumes of different heights are arranged in a grid that covers the square, allowing the creation of living spaces inside and a roof that can be walked from corner to corner, with landscape elements. The materiality of the museum, covered entirely in chukum (a natural finish of Mayan origin) ensures its durability and low maintenance cost.

The design of the volumes and their arrangement in the public space generate paths accompanied by light, shadow and vegetation that give the square a new character rich in experiences that evoke ideas of Mayan architecture along with the colonial heritage of the urban layout. The museum consciously synthesizes local Mayan learning with approaches to contemporary architecture, thus generating a new identifiable and appropriable public space for the people of Progreso.

Ground floor plan. Geology Museum by Estudio MMX.

Roof plan. Geology Museum by Estudio MMX.

Section and elevation. Geology Museum by Estudio MMX.

Geology Museum by Estudio MMX. Image courtesy of SEDATU

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More information

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Architects

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Estudio MMX.

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Project team

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Diego González, Fernanda Hinojosa, Francisco Martínez, Lorena Nuñez,
Armando Palacios.

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Client

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Programa de Mejoramiento Urbano (PMU), Mexico.

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Area

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4,200 m².

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Dates

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2021.

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Location

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Boulevard Turístico Malecón, 97320 Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico.

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Photography

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Dane Alonso.

Jorge Arvizu, Ignacio del Rio, Emmanuel Ramirez, Diego Ricalde. MMX

MMX was established in 2010 MMX Studio emerges as a collaborative team based in Mexico City focused on the design process at the various scales of the territory. Founded by Jorge Arvizu, Ignacio del Rio, Emmanuel Ramirez and Diego Ricalde.

The studio has been the recipient of various national and international awards such as the “Architectural League Prize” in New York, the “Design Vanguard” (Architectural Record), “The Cemex Award” for best national and international housing project 2013 and the Latinamerican Bienal presented in Pamplona, Spain. Their work has been presented in various renowned museums and galleries such as “Storefront for Art and Architecture” and the MOMA Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan New York as well as the MUDE Fashion Museum in Lisbon, Portugal.

Jorge Arvizu, is an architect and urban planner with honors from the IBERO and Master in Civil Engineering and Construction Management from the IBERO. He has worked in renowned architecture studios, among which TEN Arquitectos, Volvox Construcciones and the Alberto Kalach Architecture Workshop stand out, as well as a close collaboration with Architect Oscar Haggerman in the construction of shelters and schools in marginalized rural areas. Prior to Estudio MMX, Jorge worked independently consolidating his experience in the areas of architectural design, development, construction and administration. He was a professor of projects and construction at IBERO and has been invited by various institutions to offer lectures on topics related to this experience, as well as work and projects of MMX Study.

Ignacio del Rio is an architect with honors from the UNAM. He has worked in renowned architecture studio in Mexico, and Spain, among which Alberto Kalach's Workshop and Central Architecture in Mexico stand out, as well as DL + A and Molestina Architekten in Spain. Ignacio del Rio. He has a very solid experience in design and development of construction documents, as well as control of work teams. He has been invited by various national and international institutions to evaluate and offer lectures on topics related to this experience, as well as the work and projects of MMX Study.

Emmanuel Ramírez, is an architect with honors from the UNAM and Master in Urban Design from The University College of London (UCL). He has worked in various architecture studios including LBC and the Alberto Kalach Mexico Workshop, as well as SOM David Chipperfield Architects in England. He has developed his disciplinary interests in the fields of strategic urban design, master plans and architectural design. He was Professor at IBERO and at UTA Arlington and has been invited by multiple national and international institutions to judge, teach and give lectures on topics related to their interests, as well as work and MMX Study projects.

Diego Ricalde is an architect with honors from UNAM and Master in Architecture and Urbanism, with distinction, from the Architectural Association School of Architecture. He has worked in Mexico, Switzerland and Italy developing his disciplinary interests in different fields, including urban and strategic design, as well as architectural design and computational design. He has been invited by multiple national and international institutions to rate, teach and lecture on topics related to these interests as well as work and MMX Study projects.

Published on: November 1, 2022

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