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The National Museum of Anthropology turns 40 This Year
For over four decades, the National Museum Anthropology
ha prevailed over Mexico's museum scene. Architect Pedro
Ramirez Vasquez, who designed and built this extraordinary
structure, shares with us his conceptual interpretation of
this project and invites us to revisit the museum from a
new perspective.
This year marks the 40 th anniversary
of the National Museum Anthropology building. It is the most
widely-known museum in Mexico City, and an obligatory stopover
for first-time visitors to la capital. Its installations
and collections also make it the most outstanding museum
in the entire country. It was first established en 1825 and,
as of 1865, it was installed in the premise formerly belonging
to the Casa de Moneda, or National Mint until 1964, when
it was relocated to its present site. During the Congress
of the Americas in 1910, Justo Sierra, then Minister of Education,
proposed the construction of a special building to house
the Museum of Anthropology. However, with the outbreak of
the Revolution, the proposal was abandoned until 1962, when
Mexico renewed its commitment to build a new museum.
The location selected was Chapultepec Park, the most frequented
site in the city, so that the public would literally bump
into it. The location would also draw attention to the tremendous
efforts at promoting the project and the idea bore fruit:
the first Sunday after its inauguration, it welcomed 25 thousand
visitors.
A stone umbrella
A museumis, above all, an educational
institution; 30 of its 45 thousand squere meters of construction
are devoted to exhibit areas, while archaeological and
ethnographic research areas, the library, warehouses, and
preservation workshops accupy the rest -that is, 15 thousand
meters.
In the older, larger museums, in order to visit one exhibit
hall it was necesary to cross through several others, which
involves losing a great deal of timean unnecesary interruptions
for those visitors who happen to be in these particular exhibit
room.
In order to solve this problem, we designed a huge central
area allowing fore free circulation. Since this can only
be achieved by means of large courtyard it was precisely
the solution we adopted. It concurs, besides, with the traditional
us of courtyards and squeres which, for climatic reasons,
are the characteristic feature of Mexican architecture.
The courtyard offers the possibility
of free circulation in order to enter to different rooms.
The only possible obstacle to freedom of movement was the
rain. To prevent this from occurring, the building could
have been roofed in order to obtain a covered surface,
but this option would entirely close off the area when
the desired effect was precisely to convey a sense of space
and a view of the sky. If we protect ourselves from the
rain with an umbrella, the solution was obvious; we provided
the courtyard with a huge umbrella. The result is neither
an open space nor totally covered area but rather a "protected" environment.
Thus in its interior, we can appreciate the full dimensions
of the site.
Although this covering, 54 by 84 meters, is a structure
with only one visib support, it has, in fact, 80 cables that
sustain its central stanchion. Becouse the museum was located
in Chapultepc park, it was quite feasible that the spillway
over the covering could be obstructed with fallen leaves
from the heavy rains, and at a given moment could prove much
heavier than had been previously planned. To avoid this hazard,
a concentric area was opened, which allowed for the free
drainage of the rainfall water. With a view to highlighting
this feature in an ornamental fashion, the column was then
endowed with a bronze relif and a watercourse that transformed
it into an inverted fountain.
A museum visit with relaxing pauses
The museum consists of two large wings. The first house
general services, the main lobby, the auditorium, the temprorany
exhibit area, offices and public services. The upper level
contains the library as well as research and public relations
areas. In the middle of the lobby, at the mezzanine level,
there is a special exhibit room for the most valuable pieces.
The main courtyard provides access to the other wing of the
museum whose grounds level comprises the exhibit rooms corresponding
to the different Mesoamerican cultures. The ethnographic
exhibits are located on the upper level.
On the ground level, the circulation layout virtually compels
whoever has visited two exhibit rooms to exit by way of the
courtyard before entering the third exhibit area. This way,
visitors can stop rest even if they had not thought of doing
so. The architectural design itself induces the public to
rest and to relax. The same visual effect is achieved on
the upper level, since there is always the possibility of
contemplating the courtyard and catching a glimpse of Chapultepec.
Park.
One top priority concern while panning the building was
to conclude construction on the exhibit areas as soon as
possible, since the relocation process and mounting of the
exhibits requires a great deal of time. Therefore, this particular
section was conceived with a concrete structure. However,
the frontal body that houses the general services was designed
with a steel structure, because it required assembling the
umbrella structure. This solution also considerably expedited
the transportation and installation of such cumbersome pieces
as the Aztec Calendar and the Coatlicue statue, among others.
 The museum and its message
The installation of the museum's exhibits themselves proved
to be an extraordinary experience which took full advantage
of every available technical resource and the remarkable
skill of the Mexican artisans, particularly in the construction
and mounting of the exhibit rooms. Thus, huge areas of floors
and cased walls were rendered in the masterful craftsmanship
of these exceptional artisans. For example, Indigenous groups
from different regions of the country created, with utmost
precision, exact reproductions of their own dwellings for
the ethnographic exhibits.
I believe that time has proved to be the best judge of this
work, which is currently updating its musicological content
and concepts. Rather than just creating an area that would
merely allow us to admire the pieces and preserve them in
a suitable manner by my using the architectonic resources
on hand, my principal concern in designing this museum was
to transmit its message to all its visitors. To increase
their interest and spark their enthusiasm when confronted
by its magnificent relics, or by its astonishing works of
art.
Museo Nacional de Antropologia
Paseo de la Reforma y Calzada Ghandi
Colonia Chapultepec - Polanco
Delegación Miguel Hidalgo
11560 Mexico, D.F.
Phones: 011 [52] 55 - 5286-2923 / 5286-5119
Opening Hours: Tuesdays - Sundays
9:00 to 19:00 hours
Website: http://www.mna.inah.gob.mx/
** Pedro Ramirez Vázquez, an UNAM graduate, has
received important awards and is the creator of several
architectonic works such as the museum Nacional de Antropología,
the Basilica de Guadalupe, the Estadio Azteca and diverse
constructions abroad.
** Cultural heartage under the
custody of the National Institute of Anthropology and History
(INAH) Reproduction of the images - belonging to the Mexican
Republic's Cultural heritage- contained in this work
is restricted, according to the federal law on archaeological
zones and artistic and historic monuments, and the federal
copyright law, unless previously authorized by the INAH. |
