Rescatar, documentar y difundir la arquitectura mexicana e internacional, y a sus protagonistas, es la misión que el Museo Nacional de Arquitectura (MNA), Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA, México), ha llevado a cabo desde hace 30 años. A través de una biblioteca, fototeca y planoteca, cuyo acervo reúne más de 6 000 planos originales, entre los que destaca el material gráfico original del Palacio de Bellas Artes (PBA-INBA) un programa de exposiciones temporales, tanto en su sede como itinerantes, publicaciones, conferencias, mesas redondas y presentaciones de libros de afamadas personalidades de los ámbitos arquitectónico y del patrimonio cultural; este museo pone en contacto a los profesionales, estudiantes y al público en general con temas del quehacer arquitectónico a escala nacional e internacional. Esta SEMBLANZA esboza la historia, actualidad y retos del MNA-INBA en su vocación de sensibilizar a la sociedad acerca de la riqueza arquitectónica de México y, recientemente, de otras partes del mundo, así como de divulgarla y difundirla para presentes y futuras generaciones.

For 30 years the Museo Nacional de Arquitectura (MNA, The National Museum of Architecture), Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA, National Institute of Fine Arts, México) has been carrying out its mission to rescue, document and disseminate Mexican as well as international architecture, including leading figures in the field. The museum brings professionals, students and the general public in contact with architectonical issues on national and international level through its library, photo library and map archive with more than 6 000 original plans –highlight of the collection is the original graphical material of Palacio de Bellas Artes (PBA, Fine Arts Palace), INBA–, and furthermore a programme of temporary exhibitions at the venue as well as travelling expositions, publications, conferences, round tables and book presentations of famous personalities from the fields of architecture and cultural heritage. This overview sketches the history, the present situation and the challenges of MNA-INBA in carrying out their mission to raise society’s awareness about Mexico’s architectural wealth and, more recently, that of other parts of the world as well as disseminate and highlight this richness for present and future generations.