Roberto Cantoral Cultural Center | Broissin Architects

Inspired by the movement of a conductor´s baton, the building design is composed of five concrete roofs moving up and down in harmony to give shape, space and light to the project. Each roof represents a musical staff´s line, always straight, constant and parallel. We wanted to create a project that lives for the trees as the trees live as a part of it. We cannot think about a dark and traditional concert hall when the project site is in a forest area with huge and old trees.

The lines composing the façade move up and down as branches move in the wind, letting the sunlight pass through, creating a fantastical parade of shadows. Step by step, the visitor discovers the project as he walks through the access square with a relaxed mind, just observing everything around him, feeling how the concert hall is more than just steel and concrete, it is an invitation to reflection, to feel the harmony inside and outside and to discover the wonderful and magic world of music.

The building wraps you, its shape turns into the shape of music. It is not a whim or about fashion, it is just about the sound of music traveling around every space, every seat, every corner, giving shape to every dream, to every song.

Outside, the white concrete in the façade represents the purity and originality of Mexican music; inside, the red concert hall represents the Mexican composers´ passion.

Project info:
Architects: Broissin Architects
Location: Coyoacán México DF, Mexico
Design Team: Gerardo Broissin, David Suárez, Alejandro Rocha, Rodrigo Jiménez, Mauricio Cristóbal
Project Year: 2012
Photographs: Courtesy of Broissin Architetcs, Alejandro Rocha, Paul Rivera
Project Area: 9,287 sqm
Acoustic: Omar Saad, George Augspurger
Structural Engineer: Armando Serralde
Steel Structure: Nabor Castillo
Collaborators: Enrique Guillen, Adrian Tellez, Gabriela Maldonado, Ruben Zepeda, Luis Muñoz, Erik Rubín, Jose Luis Durán, Sara Villanueva, Elizabeth Salinas, Juan Manuel Vargas, Pamela Moreno
Surface Area: 17,679 sqm