Polyforum Siqueiros Galleries Revovation By BNKR

Polyforum Siqueiros Galleries, originally constructed in 1967was the masterpiece of great Mexican muralists, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco. The site is a cultural, social and political facility that was constructed in a ginormous diamond shape and completely covered in a painted mural, inside and out.

A major significance of this establishment is that it houses a historical mural called "The March of Humanity", in its Universal Forum. This mural is considered the largest in the world, with more than 8,000 square meters of painting! The history of the building and galleries goes back quite a bit. They were conceived by the architects Joaquín Alvarez Ordóñez, Guillermo Rossel de la Lama and Ramón Mikelajáuregui, together with Siqueiros in 1967. The Polyforum, a private institution with very limited resources, obtained sponsorship from a major Mexican paint manufacturer to remodel its circular galleries on the ground floor. These had not been renovated since its inauguration in 1971. With the help of that sponsor, Polyforum was able toremodel its circular galleries on the ground floor.

That’s where the  Mexico City-based creatives at BNKR Arquitecturamade their mark. Gone was the fraying industrial carpet, coarse granular walls and dropped ceilings. And in its place beautiful design elements emerged – a gorgeous circular stairwell with a white, glossy epoxy finish, an elliptical crimson reception desk that serves as a bull’s-eye of sorts, sanded and varnished wood ceiling panels, and giant, spiky installations that looks like hulking sea urchins from the dinosaur era. We have to admit, it’s quite an awesome facelift.

Photography: BNKR Arquitectura