GUADALAJARA, JALISCO, MEXICO.-Thomas Krens, Director of The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in New York, Francisco Ramirez Acuña, Governor of Jalisco, Emilio Gonzalez Marquez, Mayor of Guadalajara, and Carlos Alvarez del Castillo and Aurelio Lopez Rocha of Guadalajara Capital Cultural today announced that Enrique Norten of TEN Arquitectos (Mexico City and New York City) has won the architectural competition to develop a conceptual design for the proposed Guggenheim Museum in Guadalajara.

In addition to Enrique Norten /TEN Arquitectos, Jean Nouvel of Ateliers Jean Nouvel (Paris) and Hani Rashid and Lise Anne Couture of Asymptote (New York City) submitted designs for the proposed project.

"It has been a privilege to work with these extremely talented architects, each of whom developed an extraordinary conceptual design" said Mr. Krens. "Ultimately, it was the jury’s view that Enrique and his team brought an exceptional vision to this project. He developed a powerful design that responds to the remarkable site in a unique and dramatic manner, and that would create an international landmark for Guadalajara."

Guadalajara Mayor Emilio Gonzalez Marquez said, "The jury faced a very difficult decision in selecting from three outstanding and distinctive concepts. I believe that a Guggenheim Museum based upon Enrique’s superb design would further the development of Guadalajara as a cultural center in Latin America."

Enrique Norten/TEN Arquitectos - Enrique Norten received a Masters of Architecture from Cornell University in 1980 and went on to found Taller de Enrique Norten Arquitectos, SC (TEN Arquitectos) in 1985. Mr. Norten/TEN Arquitectos have been honored with numerous awards including The Architecture Prize of the National Fund for the Arts in 1990, awards at every Mexican Biennial from 1990 to 2000, The Latin America Grand Award at the Buenos Aires Biennial in 1993, and the first Mies van der Rohe award in 1998 for Latin America. Mr. Norten was also named the advisor to the President of the National Culture and Arts Council in 2001, and received a Gold Medal from the Society of American Registered Architects in 2003.

Among Mr. Norten’s principal completed projects are the Hotel Habita, the Insurgentes Theater, and the Alliance Francaise in Mexico City; the Ecuadore Sports Facilities in Zapopan; the Princeton Parking Structure at Princeton University; and a number of residences throughout Mexico. Among the projects currently in progress at TEN Arquitectos are The Chopo Museum in Mexico City, The Coral Diamante Housing Complex in Acapulco, the Visual and Performing Arts Library in New York, and the JVC Cultural and Business Center Master Plan and Convention Center in Guadalajara.

Mr. Norten has lectured all over the world and has participated in several international juries and awards committees, such as the World Trade Center Site Memorial Competition in New York. He currently holds the Miller Chair at the University of Pennsylvania and is the Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor at Yale School of Architecture.

The Architectural Competition and Jury - The architectural competition is part of a study to explore the feasibility, from an architectural, economic, and cultural perspective, of establishing a world-class museum in Guadalajara, primarily for Modern and contemporary art. The study is focusing upon the architecture, design, and programs and collections of the proposed museum, as well as a market study/economic-impact analysis, a site analysis, projected capital and operating costs, a legal structure, and development options. The site for the proposed museum is dramatically poised at the edge of La Barranca de Oblatos, a spectacular 610-meter deep canyon of the Río Santiago that was declared an Ecological Preserve in 1993.

The feasibility study was commissioned by Guadalajara Capital Cultural and the Municipality of Guadalajara. It is being conducted by the Guggenheim, with the assistance of McKinsey & Company as consultants for the market study, economic impact analysis, and projected operating statements; Millward Brown México, S.A. de C.V. for market research; IDOM as technical advisors on the site and the construction and estimated capital costs of the architectural design; and Creel, García-Cuéllar y Müggenburg, S.C. to advise on the legal structure if the project proceeds. It is anticipated that the study will be completed by the end of August 2005.

The jury that selected the winning design was comprised of the following members: Patrick Charpenel, Curator and Collector; Rodolfo Elizondo, Secretary of Tourism of Mexico; Frank Gehry, Architect; Emilio Gonzalez Marquez, Mayor of Guadalajara; Thomas Krens, Director of The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation; Peter Noever, Director of the Museums für Angewandte Kunst (MAK), Vienna; Francisco Ramírez Acuña, Governor of Jalisco.