In the historical center of Puebla, the Amparo Museum is housed in a complex of colonial buildings. The Amparo Foundation wanted to improve the visitor’s experience and increase the museum's exhibition capacity without destroying the original historic construction. With a limited site, TEN Arquitectos modernized Amparo’s spaces and updated its circulation through the insertions of glass vestibules of varying scales.
Bringing natural light into the building, the vestibules provide access to the galleries and unify the different collections, which range from pre-Columbian works to pieces by modern artists, while simultaneously offering new space for temporary exhibitions, offices, and an auditorium. Clarified circulation and updated facilities bring new orientation to the building, turning the Amparo Museum into a public venue, rather than merely a repository for art.
In addition to transforming this building into a place for gathering, learning and exchange, the renovation brought new life to this important institution by reconnecting it to the city as a renewed and relevant cultural resource. On the museum’s roof, the vestibules shape gardens and terraces—which are clad in local marble and talavera, a type of maiolica pottery hand-made by local artisans—to give views over the city, connecting the museum to the surrounding urban city.