revolution
in dustr i al ization
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LUIS BARRAGÁN AND MODERNISM IN POST REVOLUTION MEXICO
Within post revolution reform, modern architecture played a key role in Mexico, lending an aesthetic and social idealism that was not so much a “colonizing layer from Europe, but instead a universalizing force”.1 Aiding Mexico in overcoming old social and religious divisions and leading to rapid technological progress. A key figure in modern architectural history, as well as Mexican modern architecture, The poetic force of Luis Barragán’s expressive architecture is layered with influences of his travels. Drawing heavily from his Mexican roots, his work evolves As he travels and the people he meets shape his architectural response throughout Mexico. For me, Barragán’s work begins to encapsulate the true power of architecture on the human experience, transcending place through layers of space, light, and color profoundly connecting us with our own sense of self.
east elevation
west elevation
stu dio house 1948 Tacub aya, Mex ico
Born into an affluent family of farmers and cattle ranchers in 1902 in Guadalajara, Barragán’s childhood was spent between town and the family ranch. 2 In an interview with Emilio Ambasz Barragán recalls his earliest memories, "It was a mountain village, with houses that had tiled roofs and huge awnings….Outside in the street, there were iron rings to which the horses could be tied. The wooden pipes were covered in moss, and they would drip, overflowing through the village. No, I don’t have any photographs, I just have memories." 3
plan
galvez house 1955 Mexico city, mexico
Throughout all of Barragån’s work, the vernacular architecture of his rural surroundings strongly resonates. His architecture is autobiographical and intimately connected with his own life.
At the turn of the twentieth century, Barragán’s most formative years coincided with the most turbulent period of Mexican histor y. The revolution of 1910 caused unrest for an entire decade. Schools became secular institutions, and the government began promoting industrialization and large
Layered upon the vernacular architecture of Mexico lies
scale public works. After the Revolution, land reform and
Mediterranean inspiration, underpinning Barragán’s cultural
compulsor y purchases split up his family ranch at Corrales
education. Monastic architecture of religious orders such as
amongst local people in 1931. But it was land reform
that of the Franciscans and Augustinians made an important
4
along with nationalizing oil companies and mines that
contribution to the development of Barragán’s architectural
eventually lead to political and social stability. The factors of
concepts. 5 The serene surroundings of cloisters granted
industrialization and modernization forever changed life in Mexico as Barragán knew it.
him silence and solitude, with their harmonious proportions, simple structural volumes and thick walls.
In search of the Spanish style that shaped his Latin roots, Barragån looked closely at the work of Ferdinand Bac and the Alhambra in Granada. A major formative influence on him, the Alhambra’s surreal atmosphere of palatial buildings, water gardens and shifting axes captured his passion for gardens and outdoor spaces.
He recalls his first visit in an interview with Elena Poniatowska, "one walks through a very low tunnel I couldn’t even stand up straight and at a certain moment… there opened up before me the marvelous space of the porticos of that courtyard, standing out strongly against the blank wall and the sound of water. I’ve never forgotten the emotion I felt. In my life I’ve always needed contrast from the small to arrive at the big." 6 Barragán saw the garden as a place for meditation, necessar y for a persons’s mental balance and after exploring Ferdinand Bac’s enchanted gardens, moorish art and the Alhambra, he began to incorporate gardens as an integral part of his architecture. 7
plan
cu a dr a s an cr istobol 1969 mexico ci t y, mexico
As his travels took him throughout Europe and the States, Barragán’s focus shifted from the classical to the modern. The lure of modernism found it’s way to Barragán through Frederick Kiesler, a Viennese architect. Kiesler and Barragán discussed the architectural debate that was taking place in Europe, examining the aesthetic of the De Stijl group, Constructivist art, the Bauhaus and Surrealism. Kiesler discussed his concept of “Time-Space Architecture”, based off of the tectonic concept of Adolf Loos’ Raumplan, dividing the built volume into segments of varying heights and dimensions, giving each segment a different function. 8 Discovering a new approach to spatial organization that can easily be extended or retracted, Barragán’s perspective of functionalism had been forever changed.
and then translated it into abstract geometric space and form, introducing a new sense of order. 10
Through layers of space, light and color
Barragán begins to seek his own functionalism within modernism. Le Corbusier’s Towards A New Architecture establishes the aesthetic of the architect versus that of the engineer. “The Architect by his arrangement of forms, realizes and order which is a pure creation of his spirit: by forms and shapes he affects our senses to an acute degree and provokes plastic emotions: by the relationships which he creates he wakes profound echoes in us, he gives us the measure of an order which we feel to be in Barragán took the language of modern abstract paining and
accordance with that of our work, he determines
rendered it tactile and three dimensional, transforming the
various movements of our heard and of our
perception of reality and illusion. Dense walls, with minimal
understanding; it is then that we experience
openings allow glimpses of interiors that withdraw from the
the sense of beauty.” 11 Separated by climate,
mess of contemporary existences towards a still center, creating
language and culture, the ideology of great
a refuge. Aggressively pursuing the abstraction of form, He
architecture transcends place and unifies
woked with the naturalistic image of the Mexican landscape
modern man.
9
foot notes 1
2
Curtis, William Jr. Modern Architecture since 1900. Third Edition. New York: Phaidon, 1996. 493
Pauly, Danièle. Barragán Space and Shadow, Walls and Colour. Basel; Boston: Birkhäuser, 2002. 15 3
4
5
Pauly 17-18
Zanco, Federica, ed. Luis Barragán The Quiet Revolution. Milano: Barragan Foundation, 2001.
Martin, Ignacio San. “Luis barragán: The process of discovery”. Landscape Journal, no. 15 (Fall # 1996): 99-112. 6
7
Martin 105
Eggener, Keith. “Postwar Modernism in Mexico: Luis Barragán’s Jardines del Pedregal and the International Discourse on Architecture and Place”. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, no. 58 (June 1999): 122-45 8
9
10
Zanco 95
Curtis 497
Park, Jin-Ho, Hong-Kyu Lee, Young-Ho Cho, and Kyung-Sun Lee. “Abstract neo-plasticity and its architectural
manifestation in the luis barragán House/Studio of 1947”. The Mathematical Intelligencer, no. 31 (January 2009) 11
Conrads, Ulrich. Programs and Manifestoes on 20th-Century Architecture. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1975.
annotated bibliography Conrads, Ulrich. Programs and Manifestoes on 20th-Century Architecture. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1975. Conrad’s book contains Le Corbusier’s “Towards a new architecture, guiding principles” and “Five points towards a new architecture”. Le Corbusier’s manifestos and design values can be seen in Luis Barragán’s two-family house in Mexico, City where he employes pilotis to elevate the white, cubic volume, punctured with large flush metal windows. Although Barragán’s work matures to speak against functionalism, Le Corbusier’s “Five points” and “guiding principles shaped post-revolution modern Mexican architecture and Barragán’s aesthetic. Curtis, William Jr. Modern Architecture since 1900. Third Edition. New York: Phaidon, 1996. Curtis’ book examines the ways in which modernity was absorbed by Latin America, Australia, and Japan. The text guides you through Mexican architectural development and focuses on Luis Barragán as the key figure in Mexican modern architecture, exploring his aesthetic and influence. Curtis is able to synthesize the political climate and cultural influence that shaped Barragán. Eggener, Keith. “Postwar Modernism in Mexico: Luis Barragán's Jardines del Pedregal and the International Discourse on Architecture and Place”. Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, no. 58 (June 1999): 122-45. Accessed October 26, 2013. http://www.jstor.org.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/stable/991481. This article discusses the significance of Luis Barragán's Jardines del Pedregal as a turning point in his career. Barragán's Jardines del Pedregal reimagine an arid, barren landscape as a suburban eden, in which architecture organically emerges from its site. The Jardines del Pedregal changed Barragán's architectural vocabulary, striving towards the ideal that modern architectures can elevate and engineer the human condition. Martin, Ignacio San. “Luis barragán: The process of discovery”. Landscape Journal, no. 15 (Fall 1996): 99-112. Accessed October 28, 2013. http://lj.uwpress.org.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/content/15/2/99.full.pdf+html Martin examines Barragán’s thought and design process throughout his career. This article offers insight on how his influences shaped his aesthetic and ultimately sparked his pursuit of the anti-academic, exploring Barragán's architectural response to modernism.
annotated bibliography cont. Park, Jin-Ho, Hong-Kyu Lee, Young-Ho Cho, and Kyung-Sun Lee. “Abstract neo-plasticity and its architectural manifestation in the luis barragán House/Studio of 1947”. The Mathematical Intelligencer, no. 31 (January 2009): 63-72. Accessed October 28, 2013. http://link.springer.com.prox.lib.ncsu.edu/article/10.1007%2Fs00283-008-9011-0. This article explores the composition and organization of the Luis Barragán’s house and studio of 1947. The editors explore Barragán’s influences and formally analyze the plan and section of his home and studio through geometric and spacial diagrams. Barragán’s rectilinear design of his home and studio fuse abstract neo-plastitcy with the Mexican landscape by promoting a rich vocabulary of local materials and vibrant colors. Pauly, Danièle. Barragán Space and Shadow, Walls and Colour. Basel; Boston: Birkhäuser, 2002 Pauly’s book compiles images and text to examine all aspects Luis Barragán’s work and what inspired it. The book moves from his Mexican roots, to Mediterranean Inspiration, the lure of functionalism, as well as space and shadow, walls and colour. This book serves as an in-depth guide into all of his work and inspiration. Zanco, Federica, ed. Luis Barragán The Quiet Revolution. Milano: Barragan Foundation, 2001. The Quiet Revolution follows the evolution of Barragán’s aesthetic chronologically. It provides an in depth analysis of influence, modernism, landscape, urban design, and art within architecture.
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