Following an international design competition launched in January 2026, the Museum of Contemporary Art of Panama (MAC Panamá) announced the selection of Mexican architects Palma + Taller TO to design its new building. The museum is described as "a new cultural infrastructure open to the city, conceived from the identity, climate, and landscape of Panama." The future museum headquarters will be located in the corregimiento of San Francisco, to consolidate the area as a hub of cultural activity. The selection criteria involved the relationship between the museum and the city, prioritizing proposals with integrated elements for community engagement and framing the building as a cultural infrastructure, enriching the contemporary urban environment of Panama City.
The International Competition for the Design of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Panama aimed at selecting an architectural proposal capable of responding both to the future of museography for contemporary art and to Panamanian cultural identity. The submitted proposals represented diverse geographic and professional contexts, with Mexico having the highest number of participating teams. During the first evaluation phase in March 2026, the jury selected five finalist teams, Consorcio UTM Ateliers, Lanza Atelier, Productora, Palma + Taller TO, and Yektajo Architects, from 363 proposals submitted from 56 countries. Each team received a document with observations before the final submission on May 11, 2026. The revised proposals were subsequently re-evaluated as part of the final selection process, with Palma + Taller TO's proposal being chosen for execution.
Coordinated by Ginnette Gotti, the competition brought together a jury composed of Latin American architects David Basulto, José Esparza Chong Cuy, Ramón Zafrani, and Annamaria Zampogna; urbanist Martha Thorne; and Antonio Murzi and Graciela Quelquejeu de Chapman representing the museum. The selection criteria considered architectural quality, territorial relevance, technical and economic feasibility, sustainability, and institutional programming. The selected project was recognised for its ability to "integrate architecture, public space, and cultural experience, as well as its relationship with the urban environment and its vision of the museum as an open and accessible cultural infrastructure." The proposal was considered to offer a contemporary, democratic, and sustainable architecture that integrates collaborative dynamics to envision new forms of culture and urban life. The interdisciplinary collaboration behind Palma + Taller TO's project was particularly valued, with the jury emphasising that "architecture is built through collective work, the exchange of knowledge, and the recognition of diverse teams."
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Negotiating Boundaries: Climate and the Building Envelope in Central American ArchitectureThe selected design draws on a Latin American architectural tradition in its choice of brick for the façade, as well as its exploration of the material's potential to work with light. The building is expected to expand the museum's capacities for conservation, exhibitions, educational programs, research, and public activities. The concept envisions an open space for encounter between art, citizenship, and territory, a platform with regional and international reach, in service of the country's cultural development. The project's ambition, therefore, goes beyond its functional and technical scope. The next step involves the technical development of the project and the engagement of local professionals and stakeholders in preparation for its future construction.
Recent announcements in museum and cultural architecture include the selection of Selldorf Architects, STUDIOS Architecture, and BASE Paysagiste to renovate a section of the Louvre, one of the most visited museums in the world; the progress of the initial phase of the full renovation of the National Historical Museum in Tirana, led by Casanova+Hernandez Architects; and the appointment of Kengo Kuma & Associates and Field Operations to renovate the 15-acre campus of Pennsylvania's Brandywine Conservancy & Museum of Art.
