The result of a competition by invitation, this annex to the Museo Experimental El Eco ---designed by Mathias Goeritz in 1953--- starts from the idea of a flexible, multifunctional box. The basic shape is determined by the desire to create an anonymous architecture, differentiated from the original work both physically ---by means of a large longitudinal patio which separates the building from the neighboring wall of the Eco, generating a screen--- and formally. The design underlines the annex’s character as a space for work ---for work in process---, closer to the notion of a workshop or warehouse than to that of a static building.

By means of voids and multiple promenades, different ways of appropriating the space are established. A stairway that turns into a patio is also the space that joins the first block, which faces the street, to the volume adjacent to the northern neighbor. This space allows the building to become topography, joining the new block to the original structure by means of an underground gallery. A slight inclination ---which runs from the restaurant-café toward the patio, ending at the multi-use hall located below the ground-floor lower level--- establishes a direct and yet concealed connection with the Eco.

The link with the existing building is generated by a large hall that extends underneath the gallery of the Eco, connected by the stairs located where the offices are now. This underground space gains a great deal of additional exhibition space, with natural light provided by a vertical skylight located in the annex. The proximity to the storerooms and the workshop, which are next to the multi-use hall, makes for a clear distinction between the two blocks composing the project: one intended for production, storage, and exhibition areas and the other, with views of the park, for the administrative zones. These lead into the ground-floor gift shop which looks onto the street, with the restaurant underneath. The two blocks are connected by a second-level bridge which connects the offices with the rest area.

The public setting is turned to advantage by the gift shop and the restaurant, both open onto a patio and different levels. The patios, though close to one another, are given distinct characters: one of them extends lengthwise, functioning as a service yard and allowing direct access to the storerooms from the street, while the other is more introverted, connecting the two blocks of the project and allowing for a gradual descent. From an urban standpoint, two fundamental principles are brought into play: on one side, the new construction withdraws as much as possible from the Eco, serving to form a barrier between it and its neighbor to the west; on the other side, it emphasizes its public character even as it seeks to project a simple, compact, and inexpensive aspect. This is confirmed by the choice of materials, as for example steel cladding, which highlights the construction’s forthright self-awareness.