Fernando Romero

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Fernando Romero
Arq fernando romero foto.jpg
Born1971 (age 5354)
Mexico City, Mexico
OccupationArchitect
Buildings Soumaya Museum
Projects new Mexico City International Airport

Fernando Romero Havaux (born 1971) [1] is a Mexican architect and philanthropist. He is the founder of Fernando Romero [2] (formerly known as Fr-ee). In 2025, Fernando established Fundacion Fernando Romero and under its patronage is transforming Barragan's masterpiece - La Cuadra San Cristobal- into a new cultural venue for Mexico City. [3] He is also the co-founder of Archivo Diseño y Arquitectura. Fernando is the ex-son-in-law of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim. [4] [5]

Contents

Family

Romero is the great grandson of Alejandro Romero Lesbros, who was a pioneer in the development of several boroughs and recreation districts in Mexico City from the 1920s to the 1940s. His grandfather Raúl Romero Erazo and father Raúl Romero Zenizo continued the family business. He studied architecture at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City from 1991 until 1995, serving as a president of the alumni society. [6]

Career

Casa da Musica Casa da Musica 01.jpg
Casa da Musica

In 1995, following graduation, Romero joined the office of Rem Koolhaas, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), in Rotterdam, Netherlands.[ citation needed ] In 1999, Romero served as the project leader who won the entry for Casa da Música in Porto, Portugal. [6] After its inauguration in 2005, The New York Times described the building as "one of the most important concert halls built in the last 100 years". [7]

Fernando Romero - Studio

After leaving OMA, Romero founded his own studio in Mexico City in 2000. Its work comprises a variety of scales, programs and morphologies[ clarification needed ] located all over the world. [8]

Romero designed the Soumaya Museum, [9] the Mexico City International Airport (with Norman Foster) [10] and El Salvador's Bitcoin City along with its Airport of the Pacific. [11] In Spring 2025, his studio broke ground on a new $84 million hospital in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for CHRISTUS HEALTH. [12]

The terminal would have used very little power, and would have been the most sustainable airport in the world. It would have had short spaces throughout the halls; therefore, no internal trains or subway tunnels would be used. It would have had six lanes, and would have been able to mobilize up to 120 million passengers per year. It is estimated that the project would have required an investment of about 9,150 million dollars and is considered to be the most important work of the administration of the president Enrique Peña Nieto. [17]

Philanthropy

In February 2025, Romero founded Fundacion Fernando Romero [22] which operates through the disciplines of art, architecture, and spatial research, all with the ambition of making a positive impact on people's lives. The work of the Fundación is organized under two umbrella initiatives —— Arts & Culture and a Research Institute.

La Cuadra

During Zona Maco 2025, Romero announced his foundation's plants to transform La Cuadra into a new, public cultural destination. [23] Romero’s vision includes the addition of new pavilions and other temporary interventions. Romero said "Through a range of programming, we aim to catalyze the power of architecture for the visiting public and celebrate the enduring cultural influence of Luis Barragán.” [24] .

Marina Abramović at La Cuadra

As an early preview of the programming that his foundation will organize at La Caudra, Marina Abramović delivered the first annual artist experience during Zona Maco. [25]

Romero is also the co-founder of Archivo Diseño y Arquitectura, located in Mexico City, a private collection and experimental exhibition space for industrial design objects.

Lectures and public speaking

Romero has lectured extensively, most recently at the AIA Latin America: FAST FORWARD 2025 conference. [26] He also served as a Visiting Professor at Columbia University in New York City.[ citation needed ] He is a member of the American Institute of Architects and CAMSAM (Mexican Chamber of Architects).[ citation needed ]

Recognition

Romero has been awarded with numerous international and national distinctions, such as:

Books

Books by Romero: [30]

References

  1. "INTERVIEW WITH Fernando Romero – Fr-ee". Arch2O. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  2. "Fernando Romero Studio". Fernando Romero - Studio. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  3. Staff, M. N. D. (3 February 2025). "Hot pink estate designed by Luis Barragán to become a cultural center". Mexico News Daily. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  4. Salazar, Ana Pérez (28 May 2019). "El reencuentro de Soumaya Slim y Fernando Romero en la graduación de su hija". Quién (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  5. Redacción. "9 datos clave del yerno de Slim que diseñará el aeropuerto". Expansion.mx. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  6. 1 2 "LAR/ Fernando Romero". ArchiTravel. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  7. "Rem Koolhaas Learns Not to Overthink It". New York Times. 10 April 2005. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  8. "(FREE) FERNANDO ROMERO". Architectureexposed. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  9. Casey, Nicholas (3 March 2011). "Emperor's New Museum | Museo Soumaya". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  10. "Norman Foster, Romero to build Mexico airport". USA TODAY. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  11. "Fernando Romero, seducido por Bukele y por el Bitcoin". es-us.vida-estilo.yahoo.com (in Spanish). 16 December 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  12. "CHRISTUS Health breaks ground on $84 million hospital in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico". www.christushealth.org. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  13. "Fernando Romero Studio". Fernando Romero - Studio. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  14. Secretaría de Prensa El Salvador (25 February 2025). Presidente Nayib Bukele coloca la primera piedra del Aeropuerto del Pacífico . Retrieved 1 May 2025 via YouTube.
  15. Casey, Nicholas (3 March 2011). "Emperor's New Museum | Museo Soumaya". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  16. "CHRISTUS Health breaks ground on $84 million hospital in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico". www.christushealth.org. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  17. "Foster + Partners and fr·ee collaboration to design new Mexico City International Airport". Bustler. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  18. "Los Cabos International Convention Center / FR-EE / Fernando Romero Enterprise= ArchDaily". 17 March 2014. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  19. "Fernando Romero FR-EE". Archibel. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  20. "Arquitectura en México 1900-2010". Arquine. 2013.
  21. Enterprise, fr-ee – Fernando Romero. "Plaza Carso". fr-ee – Fernando Romero Enterprise. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  22. https://fundacionromero.mx/
  23. "Luis Barragán's Cuadra San Cristobal to Reopen as Mexico City's Next Cultural Hub". Hypebeast. 30 January 2025. Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  24. "A Hot Pink Luis Barragán Masterwork Is Becoming an Arts Center This Fall". ELLE Decor. 30 January 2025. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  25. Córdova, Kim (25 February 2025). "At This Architectural Gem, an Artist Was Present. Horses, Too". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 28 April 2025.
  26. "AIA Latin America: FAST FORWARD". AIA INTERNATIONAL. 1 April 2025. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  27. "Honorary Fellowship - AIA". www.aia.org. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  28. Kuang, Cliff (14 September 2012). "Infographic: 50 People Shaping The Future Of Design". Fast Company. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
  29. "LAR/ Fernando Romero". ArchiTravel. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2014.
  30. 1 2 "LAR / Fernando Romero Simplexity". Hatje Cantz . Retrieved 12 November 2014.