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Words by Ting Jui Brook Lin
Madrid-based architecture practice FRPO has designed Estación San José, a new mixed-use building in the Mexican city of Toluca.
The site of the project was originally a car park serving an adjoining office complex. The owner, while needing to maintain parking facilities, wanted to create a multi-purpose structure that could become a cultural and economic hub for the local area and wider city.
The building is located close to Toluca’s central historic district – with the San José Cathedral and multiple museums – but aims to strengthen the connection between this area and the nearby university district. The architect and the client saw the project – which began in 2017 – as an opportunity to fuse these dispersed energies of the city.
On Tuesday, Mexico asked the British auction house Christie s to cancel a sale planned for February 9 in Paris. Mexico s National Institute of Anthropology and History reviewed the items on sale and identified more than 30 as part of the country s cultural heritage dating back to the Mexico s pre-Hispanic era, and asked that they be returned. The NIAH also identified three items as fake.
Christie s plans to auction off masks, carved stones, and other items made by Aztec, Mayan, Toltec, and Mixtec groups, making a predicted $1.1 million in sales.
Diego Prieto, the director general of NIAH, said the institute filed a complaint on January 29 with the Mexican attorney general s office over the auction, and that the country s foreign ministry is trying to retrieve the items through diplomatic channels. During a virtual news conference, Prieto said sacred objects should not be for sale.
| UPDATED: 18:26, Fri, Feb 5, 2021
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The shipwreck had languished off the coast of Mexico for 200 years before its discovery by fishermen in the region. The vessel is called Manuel Polanco, named after the man who found it. It was found unexpectedly in an underwater grave 21 miles from Majahual on Mexico s Caribbean coast. Researchers were able to unveil more information about the wreck, saying its wood dated back to the 18th or 19th century.
In Aztec lore, the golden eagle symbolises bravery and is considered a warrior.
Mexican Cultural Minister Alejandra Frausto Guerrero said: “For what we have seen in pictures, it is a beautifully made piece that shows the great mysteries that former Mexico Tenochtitlan’s Templo Mayor still has to reveal. I would like to acknowledge the INAH archaeologists who collaborate in this site.
Archaeology news: Golden eagle carved into volcanic rock found in Aztec temple (Image: INAH)
Templo Mayor (Image: GETTY) It is because of their effort and dedication that we can continue to recover our history and our memory of the past.