La remodeling and expansion of the Anahuacalli Museum in Mexico City by Taller | Mauricio Rocha has won the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP) for 2023, as announced today by MCHAP Director Dirk Denison and Jury Chair Sandra Barclay. Awarded by the College of Architecture of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), the biennial accolade recognizes a built work in the Americas that best embodies architectural excellence.
The winning work creates a sensitive, open dialogue with the existing museum, which was conceived by the artist Diego Rivera in the 1940s and built over the following decades in collaboration with the architect Juan O’Gorman. The ecological and cultural significance of the surrounding volcanic landscape – in El Pedregal de San Ángel, an upscale neighborhood of southern Mexico City – were key considerations for the architects. The project offers a “contemporary interpretation,” in the architect’s words, that addresses the unique heritage of the site and offers new public space and opportunity for encounters with Rivera’s collection of pre-Hispanic art.
Completed in June 2021, Taller | Mauricio Rocha’s intervention presents three new buildings – storage, workshop, offices – and a walkway that integrates these additions with the original museum. In addition, several existing structures have been repurposed and elements of the exhibitions have been redesigned.
