The Anahuacalli Museum Is the 2023 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize Recipient

The Anahuacalli Museum extension and refurbishment by Taller | Mauricio Rocha in Mexico City has just been announced as the recipient of the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize 2023. Every two years, the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) College of Architecture presents the prize for the constructed work in the Americas that best exemplifies architectural greatness.

©Rafael Gamo / Onnis Luque

“In a remarkable manner, the Anahuacalli Museum brings together historical culture, the natural world, and the local community. It accomplishes this through “an architectural interference that reinvents and complements in an updated context the powerful sense of the pre-existence of this site.” Mónica Bertolino, member of the MCHAP 2023 committee.

The Anahuacalli Museum by Taller | Mauricio Rocha

The jury, led by architect Sandra Barclay in the chair position, praised the proposal for its sensitivity and the “open dialogue” it establishes with the preexisting Anahuacalli Museum. Artist Diego Rivera designed the landmark building in the 1940s with help from builder Juan O’Gorman. The historic buildings and the more modern additions to the Pedregal de San Ángel neighborhood of Mexico City pay homage to and enhance the natural beauty of the museum’s area.

©Rafael Gamo / Onnis Luque

The Guadalupe Market by Colectivo C733, the Menil Drawing Institute by Johnston Marklee, the Park in the Prado neighborhood by the Mayor’s Office of Medelln – Secretary of Infrastructure, the Polygon Gallery by Patkau Architects, and the Valois Housing Building by José Cubilla were among the six finalists from which the winner was selected.

Executive Director of the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP) Dirk Denison remarked, “All six finalists offer more than what is asked of them. They lay the groundwork for a future of more remarkable generosity. All of the candidates for MCHAP find innovative ways to maximize resources. They respond to this allegation and a lesson in the process.”

©Rafael Gamo / Onnis Luque

Three new buildings—a storage facility, a workshop, and new offices—and a pathway connecting them all to the original museum are part of Taller | Mauricio Rocha’s renovation and extension of the Anahuacalli Museum, completed in June 2021.

Additionally, the project repurposes multiple operating buildings and revamps portions of the museum’s displays. The renovation responds to the site’s rich history by creating new public areas and access points for viewing Rivera’s pre-Hispanic art collection. The MCHAP Chair of Architecture at IIT will go to Anahuacalli Museum expansion architect Mauricio Rocha, who will also receive a monetary award of $50,000 for research purposes.

“The expansion to the museum’s natural surroundings is a bold, genuine, and unique tribute to the museum’s historical roots.” Jury member for the MCHAP 2023, Julie Eizenberg