GO MUSEUM-HOPPING
Mexico City is said to have more than 150
institutions, so you’re spoilt for choice when
it comes to museums. Refine your search by
allowing the architecture to lead you. Hop
in a pink city taxi to the Polanco district,
where Sir David Chipperfield’s sawtooth-
roofed Museo Jumex stands alongside
the mirrored steel-clad Museo Soumaya.
In Chapultepec Park, the staggered
concrete structure that houses Museo
Tamayo (which also showcases a selection
of contemporary art) appears to grow
out of the ground as you cross the road
from the park’s verdant botanical garden.
Close by is the National Museum of
Anthropology. Its courtyard pond and
‘The Umbrella’ fountain with storytelling
pillar make for an impressive entry to
the exhibition halls that document the
history of humanity and of Mexico.
VISIT KAHLO AND RIVERA
While most Frida Kahlo fans check in to
her blue-walled Casa Azul (Blue House) in
Coyoacán, it’s the other home and workplace
she shared with her husband Diego Rivera
that calls the attention of architecture
devotees. Designed by Juan O’Gorman in
the early 1930s, the property comprises
three buildings that show off Mexico’s first
architectural examples of functionalism.
Kahlo’s house-study (painted in blue)
and Rivera’s home-studio (in white and red)
are connected by a rooftop bridge, from
where the third independent building,
which held a photographic laboratory, can
be appreciated from above. Plus, behind
Rivera’s floor-to-ceiling studio windows,
you’ll still find part of his collection of pre-
Hispanic artefacts and Mexican crafts.
HIT THE MOVIES
Even if you don’t have time for one of the
art house movies at Cineteca Nacional de
Mexico or its amphitheatre, a stop here
is mandatory for lovers of futuristic-
looking spaces. Renovated and expanded
by Rojkind Arquitectos, the complex is
covered by a hovering aluminium canopy
whose triangular perforations allow for
architectural shadow play. The park-like
space on the ground floor is designed for the
public to enjoy as if it were their own garden,
so grab a coffee from the café and revel
in your own Mexican movie moment. O
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A mural by Ángel Zárraga graces
an outdoor area at the Biblioteca
Vasconcelos in Mexico City,
Mexico; architect Luis Barragán’s
home is a study in colour and
light; the lobby of Biblioteca
Vasconcelos features towering
bookshelves; Palacio de Bellas
Artes’ interiors are distinctly Art
Deco in their influence.OPPOSITE PAGE
The National Autonomous
University of Mexico’s Central
Library is adorned with a large-
scale mosaic by Juan O’Gorman.PREVIOUS PAGE
At the centre of the National
Museum of Anthropology stands
‘The Umbrella’, a fountain whose
bronze column was designed by
the Chávez Morado brothers.