The Mexican Museum is to build a new permanent facility in the heart of San Francisco’s Yerba Buena arts district near the corner of Mission and 3rd Streets.
The new building will significantly increase the Museum’s square footage, with vastly expanded gallery space, a community multi-purpose room, enlarged collection holding areas, increased technological capabilities, and more. This new facility will present and house the Museum’s collection of over 12,000 culturally and artistically significant objects, providing a magnificent home in which the cultural life of Latino communities can be voiced and shared for generations to come.
The Mexican Museum’s new building is designed by internationally acclaimed Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta. Legorreta is known for his signature use of traditional colors and natural light to create geometric forms that are welcoming yet mysterious. The Mexican Museum’s permanent home promises to be one of San Francisco’s most remarkable architectural treasures, timeless and vibrant.
Born in 1931, Legorreta received his Bachelor’s in Architecture at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico in 1952. After a partnership with José Villagrán, he founded Legorreta Arquitectos in Mexico City, and has since opened offices in the United States. As a teacher, Legorreta has accepted posts at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Universidad Iberoamericana, Harvard University, UCLA, and the University of Texas at Austin. Since 1969, he has lectured in the most important universities of Mexico, Guatemala, Argentina, Uruguay, Japan and Costa Rica, as well as in Santiago de Chile, Vancouver, Toronto, Madrid, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona.
Legorreta has received many honors and awards. In January 2000, he was awarded the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Gold Medal, making him the only Latin American to have received this prestigious award. The AIA annually recognizes an architect whose work has had a lasting influence on the history and practice of architecture. He was a member of the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; an Honorary Fellow, American Institute of Architects; and a member of the International Academy of Architecture. He received the National Award of the Fine Arts from the Mexican government; Architect of the Americas Prize, Uruguay; and was Special Advisor for the National Arts and Culture Council, Mexico.
Other works by Legorreta
Legorreta has over 100 design projects to his credit in the United States and Mexico, including the restorations of the Palacio de Iturbide and the San Ildefonso School, Mexico City; the IBM Offices, Mexico City; Master Plan in Valle de Bravo; Solana Complex, Dallas, Texas; Regina Hotel, Cancún; Museum of Contemporary Art, Monterrey, Mexico; Children’s Discovery Museum, San Jose, California; the Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua; Pershing Square, Los Angeles; Las Terrazas Office Building, San Luis Potosí; the Chapultepec Zoo, Mexico City; Monterrey Library, Monterrey, Mexico; Banker’s Club, Mexico City; the Tech Museum of Innovation, San Jose; the San Antonio Library, Texas; and the Mission Bay Community Center of the University of California, San Francisco.
Image: The Mexican Museum
The Mexican Museum
Fort Mason Center
Building D
San Francisco, CA 94123
Telephone: (415) 202-9700
[email protected]
ww.mexicanmuseum.org