Toyo Ito’s Museum for Baroque Art Opens in Mexico
Everything from the works of art to the food at the Museo Internacional del Barroco in Puebla, Mexico, pays tribute to the Baroque. The architecture of the building itself, as designed by the team of 2013 Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Toyo Ito, however, is a distinct contrast with its sleek façade and fluid shape. The new museum for art, literature, music, and fashion celebrates the grandeur and drama of the 17th and 18th century. Although Ito’s design is stylistically much simpler than the ornamentalism Baroque is associated with, it still maintains the same sensuous and emotive quality. The exterior is constructed from massive white concrete slabs, with elongated windows that allow for certain rooms to overlook the courtyard.
Nothing is more monumental and powerful than the natural world, something Toyo Ito & Associates harnessed when creating the museum. The government provided almost 12.5 acres to build on in the Atlixcáyotl Territorial Reserve—a park in Puebla that has amped up its environmental activism in recent years. Ito’s team intended for the structure to reconnect guests with nature by creating a structure that looks as though it sprouted up from the earth. Besides making the entire building as energy-efficient as possible, Ito was also extremely conscious of how water, air, and light functioned in the design.