César O. Huerta Álvarez

Tecnológico de Monterrey Campus Estado de México | EAAD RMX
Integrating Projects Workshop II
Semester August - December 2021
Student(s) : Kiria Angélica Hernández Sashida
Paola Tepale Santillan
Sarah Figueroa Garza
César Huerta Álvarez
Professor | María Inmaculada Roa Cachero
Project Name : Xuen Museum

Xuen Museum is an academic cultural project conceived for the Riviera Maya. The proposal explores the relationship between life and death, the material and the spiritual, using architecture, nature, water, and Mexican craftsmanship to create an immersive visitor experience.

The project is organized around a monumental Tree of Life, inspired by the traditional craftsmanship of Metepec. Positioned at the center of the museum, this element functions as both a visual landmark and the main orientation point, connecting the exhibition spaces, public areas, gardens, and water features.

The architectural program includes permanent and temporary galleries, interactive and immersive rooms, workshops, a restaurant, cafeteria, retail spaces, administrative areas, and outdoor routes connected to cenotes and underground tunnels. The sequence of spaces was designed as a gradual journey in which visitors move between enclosed galleries, shaded courtyards, vegetation, and aquatic environments.

The material palette combines chukum finishes, tropical wood, limestone, black steel, and tempered glass. These materials, together with pergolas, vegetation, water, and semi-open circulation areas, respond to the tropical climate while establishing a strong connection between the museum and its natural surroundings.

Through digital projections, interactive installations, and carefully choreographed routes, Xuen seeks to present Mexican art and popular culture as an experience that extends beyond the conventional exhibition room.