Courtesy of © Asymptote Architecture
Asymptote’s proposal of the Guggenheim in Guadalajara competition imagined the museum as an undulating mass rising from four sculptural corner volumes, with a central atrium acting as an “urban balcony.” A computer-generated ceramic tile would have covered the steel. While they lost to Enrique Norten, their surprising proposal has since been attracting attention and acclaim. With a strong, iconic architectural expression on a spectacular, clifftop site, the diaphanous spectre seemingly hovers like a spaceship. It is touted by the architects as a space that performs simultaneously as a “dramatic viewing platform, a gateway, a gathering place, an urban theatre and an outdoor exhibition space.”
Courtesy of © Asymptote Architecture
Architect Description:
Asymptote’s design for a new Guggenheim Museum in Guadalajara, Mexico projects an iconic architectural presence on a spectacular site. The four sculptural corner building volumes that rise up from the ground plane and the sweeping surfaces of the museum suspended above create a remarkable space that transitions between the city and the surrounding canyon. In this dynamic public space visitors can access the public amenities housed in the corner buildings, view large-scale sculptures on exhibit or enter the museum interior via escalators set against an extraordinary panorama.
Courtesy of © Asymptote Architecture
LOCATION: Guadalajara, Mexico
SIZE: 25,000 sq.m
DATE: 2005
CLIENT:
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation
ARCHITECT:
Asymptote Architecture
CONSULTANTS:
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: Buro Happold
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN: Atelier Ten
COST CONSULTANT: Davis Langdon
EXPERIENCE DESIGN: Imaginary Forces
MODEL PROTOTYPING: InterPRO Montreal
