Returning to Mother's Roots

https://hyperallergic.com/625412/an-eco-conscious-museum-will-sprout-from-a-logged-rainforest-in-mexico/?utm_campaign=daily&utm_content=20210302&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter

    In Hyperallergic news, on March 1, 2021, the global art, architecture, and scientific community received news about a project in the southern tropical rain forests of Mexico.  An ecological research museum will be constructed from a barren strip of land caused by illegal logging; however, Fernanda Raiz, founder, Mexican art collector, and environmental activist, envisioned an opportunity to recycle this location into a research museum.  The nonprofit organization Fundacion Raiz is a team consisting of ecologists, biologists, healers, and active members within the Ecuadorian and Peruvian indigenous communities; to conserve nature, educate, and re-establish healthy relationships with the Earth around us.  Their work is inspirational; check out the Caemba Program and witness the architectural miracles in Ecuador after the 2016 earthquake that relocated thousands of locals from their homes. 

    The museum is named Xinatli, a Nahuatl (Aztec) word "xianchtli" describing the moment a seed germinates in the soil.  There is an energy of purity to each thought of the planning process.  For example, the main architects encourage local indigenous craftsmanship, such as construction methods used by the Yucatec Mayans where trees are planted, not uprooted, to support the building's framework.  Mexican architect Estudio Juini and Norwegian-German architect Viktor Sorless want to reinstate the ancient form of a Mesoamerican stepped pyramid seen in Olmec, Mayan, and Aztec culture. 

    The museum will consist of exhibition halls, art pavilions, and a scientific center researching biodiversity and climate change.   I appreciate Raiz for challenging the western gallery setting by creating an eye-to-eye experience with Mother Earth, not against her, as the visitors move through the museum the relationship between art and society molds into something new.  This level of consciousness to life on earth and the universe is an enlightening experience, and I will continue to stay involved with this project's progress.  The project is in the design and planning stage, with no construction date yet.