The collection exhibited there, considered one of the best in the country, is assembled by Eugenio Lopez Alonso, owner of Grupo Jumex, the main producer of fruit juices in Mexico. In 2001, he opened his first exhibition space at his factory near Mexico City, and has now moved his collection of works by Jeff Koons, Olafur Eliasson, Gabriel Orozco and other Mexican and foreign artists to the capital.
The new museum is located in the area of Nuevo Polanco, now occupied by commercial development of the former industrial zone, directly opposite the museum of another major entrepreneur and art collector - "Zumaia" billionaire Carlos Slim, built by his son-in-law, architect Fernando Romero. The plot of the "confrontation" emphasizes the completely different style of the two buildings: Chipperfield's neo-modern building for Jumex is the exact opposite of Romero's digital architecture.
Chipperfield initially wanted to build a low-rise ensemble of several buildings and courtyards, but then took into account the aggressive environment of highways, railways, high-rise buildings and shopping centers and chose the form of a compact block for the museum.
Its facades are made of local travertine. Thanks to the skill of the Mexican workers, it has been possible to achieve a very high quality workmanship of the materials and details that are so important to this architect. Also, all the floors in the museum are made of travertine, which enlivens even the neutral white exhibition halls, without which no such institution can do.
The museum with a total area of 6,700 m2 is divided into two parts horizontally. The lower one is emphatically public: there is a lobby, a cafe, a small plaza and other objects common for modern cultural institutions. Above is the "showcase" - partly glazed, partly open public space. It has no other function than to give visitors the opportunity to take a break from the city bustle that remains below and from the emotionally rich exposition. The two upper floors are occupied by halls of permanent and temporary exhibitions, and the building ends with a crenellated roof, where glazed openings simultaneously let in and filter sunlight.
