FR-EE Fernando Romero Enterprise. Museo Soumaya, Mexico City, Mexico. 2008-11.
Sebastian, Torch of Friendship/ Antorcha de la Amistad, 2002. San Antonio, Texas, USA
Mexicans Fernando Romero, architect, and Sebastián, sculptor, creating quintisentially 21st century works: Museo Soumaya and Antorcha de la Amistad (Torch of Friendship) Elana Honig-Juarez
April 30, 2021
Despite being a generation apart in age, the mexican sculptor Sebastián and the mexican architect Fernando Romero are both creating works that epitomize artistic theory of the 21st century. Fernando Romero’s 17,000 m² parametric Soumaya Museum is reminiscent of the fluid geometric forms of which Zaha Hadid was famous. Its form stands out in sharp contrast to its surroundings, the rotated trapezoid rises 150 feet tall on a newly developed cultural site in the middle of a commercial district. Surrounding the museum are new high rise skyscrapers, a Costco, and on one side, an old freight train rumbles by periodically (going to the bread factory around the corner). The Torch of Friendship/Antorcha de la Amistad is a monumental abstract sculpture by the Mexican artist Sebastián, permanently situated in San Antonio, Texas. The Antorcha, located promenently on a traffic circle in the middle of town, was very well received in San Antonio when it was installed in 2002, and like the Soumaya, is a beloved landmark in its city.1 Modern advances in engineering and computer modeling enabled the design of the parametric form of the Soumaya and the towering twisted form of Antorcha de la Amistad. Both Fernando Romero’s Museo Soumaya (2008-11) and Sebastian’s Antorcha de la Amistad (2002) use modern design and construction technology to create dynamic, torqued forms where the work, weather, and time of day come together to create a unique experience for the viewer, where the viewer’s perceptions form part of the work itself.
21st Century Technology Facilitating New Forms Niether the sculpture Antorcha de la Amistad nor the Museo Soumaya would be technologically possible a few decades ago. The design of the Soumaya Museum is influenced by both parametric futurism (sometimes called avant-garde) and a handful of monumental museums in Europe and the US, such as the Bilbao museum and the Guggenheim2. Parametric futurism was spearheaded by Zaha Hadid and Patrik Schumacher, and is a successor to modernism. In this style, the architecture is parametrically malleable and relies heavily on computational design tools (such as Grasshopper in Rhino), and computer-assisted fabrication CONTRAST: GEOMETRIC/ORGANIC FORM
EXTERIOR CIRCULATION
methods. The Soumaya’is supported by 28 steel columns of varying size and shape (in blue, Fig. 1), resting on a concrete podium. The columns are tied together by a ring (in orange, Fig. 1) at each floorplate, supporting the cantilevers on multiple sides (Fig. 2). It’s asymmetrical twisted trapezoidal mass is sheathed in 16,000 computer-designed hexagonal polished metal tiles (Fig. 3).
METAL OCTAGONAL TILED FACADE
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Figure 2
Figure 3
Human + Environment + Work = Experience Fernando Romero and Sebastian play with perception: both of their works look different from different angles, and at different times of day (Fig 4-6). With the Soumaya, this is achieved through an asymmetrical torqued fluid geometric form (Fig. 7) and the hexagonal polished tiles that reflect the sky and clouds (Fig. 3). The winding circulation up to the entrance forces the viewer to perceive the form of the Soumaya from different angles, accentuating the torque (Fig. 8).
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ASYMMETRICAL TWIST CONTRAST: GEOMETRIC/ORGANIC FORM
CONTRAST: GEOMETRIC/ORGANIC FORM EXTERIOR CIRCULATION
Figure 7
EXTERIOR
Figure 8
The concept of movement and twisting is prevalent within the museum also, with curving ramps and stairways, sloped ceilings, and curving walls. The interior configuration has an asymmetrical focal point, but there is a unifying sense that is achieved through the organization of circulation. On the main exhibit floors (the top six of eight floors), the circulation asymmetrically wraps the perimeter of the building, surrounding the central exhibit space. This allows one to focus on the exhibits, clearly establishing them as the focal point (Fig 9).
METAL OCTAGONAL TILED FACADE
METAL OCTAGONAL TILED FACADE
Figure 9
Like the form of the Soumaya, the asymmetry of the Antorcha causes it to look different from different angles, and at different times of day. At times the pillars appear farther apart, at a different angle, they are touching, and then from another angle, they look like only one pillar up until they start to curl and twist. The sculpture is a smooth enameled iron, portraying strength and endurance. It is lit year-round, with varying light patterns and colors, giving the work a dynamism that many stationary pieces lack. (Fig. 10-12)
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Through modern design and construction technology, the dynamic, torqued forms of Romero’s Museo Soumaya (2008-11) and Sebastian’s Antorcha de la Amistad (2002) enable the work, weather, and time of day to come together to create a unique experience for the viewer, where the viewer’s perceptions form part of the work itself. Technological advances have led to parametricism, which allows a design to “vary and adapt to the diverse, complex and dynamic requirements of contemporary society”4. In Contagious Architecture, Luciana Parisi puts forth the idea that parametricism is not just a mathematical tool, but is its own type of thinking. She draws attention to how it “extends into forms of abstraction that lie beyond direct human cognition and control.”5 By embracing an asymmetrical form and judiciously chosen materiality, both works epitomize the current trend of the experience of a work being more than the sum of it’s parts, where the viewer is an active participant in creating the experience.