The murals in the Polyforum Cultural by famed Mexican painter David Alfaro Siqueiros, designated an Urban Cultural Heritage three years ago, will undergo a full restoration in order to assure their long-term preservation.

  Authorities and the Suarez family, which owns the building, agreed to create a private trust with public contributions to guarantee the restoration and operation of the cultural center, the Mexico City Culture Secretariat said in a statement.

  The murals show damage from dirt, corrosion and cracks, caused by the weather and the natural aging process of the materials used at the time by muralist Siqueiros (1896-1974), the secretariat said.

  "What we're looking for is a project to preserve and promote this national heritage, assuring the economic resources needed to maintain the building and its 8,000 sq. meters (86,000 sq. feet) of murals in perfect condition, at least for the next 100 years," the president of the Polyforum, Alfredo Suarez, said.

  The trust will have a technical committee that will administrate the funds and supervise the completion of the first restoration of the murals since their creation in 1971.

  Suarez noted that the cultural center is planned to have, like many museums and artistic spaces, a source of funding that will make it economically sustainable in the long term.

  "This solution is already common in many parts of the world, where cultural centers are kept in perfect condition because they are integrated with buildings that generate revenues," he said.

  The building, constructed in the shape of a diamond, and the artworks and infrastructure it holds, are all private property, but together have been declared an Artistic Monument since July 18, 1980, by presidential decree.

  The project includes the creation of a public square, from where the diamond can be observed from every angle.