Claudia Petre
Luis Barragan - Early houses plan development
The aim of this essay is to explore Luis Barragan’s first steps into its architecture career, the way his traditional oriented approach was influenced by the Modernist Movement, through 3 case study houses: Gonzalez Luna House (1929), Gustavo Cristo House (1930/31) and Barragan House and Studio (1947-48). Luis Barragan was an architect and engineer born in 1902 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, has lived and worked in his native country until his death in 1988. 1 During his time, Mexican society had a characteristic ‘complementariness between the values of innovation and those of tradition; his architecture is born out of this context. His sensibility was formed by the architecture of Jalisco region, the memories of his childhood, his family roots and his further experiences. ‘These memories flourished in his first works’ and further coinciding ‘with his first trip in Paris in 1925’ when he attended the decorative arts exhibition and met Le Corbusier, which at first developed an opposing view on architecture. He then, still in France, came across the writings of Ferdinand Bac, a ‘little-known theorist of the new art of gardens who then became a fixed star in the firmament of Barragan’s cultural influences.’ 2 Barragan regards the house as ‘a domestic representation of a religious space’. 3 His architecture is ‘mystery, surprise and memory and a bulwark against the excess of a life of uncontrolled extroversion.’ Furthermore, he enriches the wall – ‘the oldest and perhaps the noblest of the elements of architecture’ – with ‘strength and autonomy and invests it with dignity and importance.’4 He believed that ‘it is light – indirect, reflected, or filtered – and shadow that affect the mood of those who live in a place and lead them 1 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Barrag%C3%A1n [accessed 01/05/2017]
2 Martinez, Antonio Riggien, Luis Barragan: Mexico’s Modern Master, 1902-1988, The Monacelli Press, 1996, p-8
3 Jublez, Jose Buendia, Palomar Juan, Eguiarte Guillermo, The life and work of Luis Barragan, Reverte Ediciones, 1996, p-4
4 Jublez, p-18
to reflect and re-create the purest feelings of the spirit.’ 5‘He had no ideological axe to grind’ allowing him to ‘borrow ideas, materials, techniques and forms and use them in an entirely individual way.’6 His influences range from The popular architecture of Mexican provinces – ‘white washed walls, serene courtyards, brightly colored streets’ 7 ,the Casbah houses in Morocco – ‘very closely molded to fit he landscape, connected to the people who live there, to their clothing, to the atmosphere, even to their dances and to their families’, the Mediterranean style – voices of Andalusia and the Greek Aegean, Ferdinand Bac’s ideas paintings of courtyards and gardens etc.
Street in Jalisco 8
5 Rispa, Raul, Barragan: The complete works, Thames and Hudson, 1995, p-17
6 Rispa, p-17 7 Jublez, p-12 8 https://ro.pinterest.com/explore/en-mexico-906204066137/ [accessed 30/04/2017]
Street in Morocco 9
Barragan’s work can be divided into 3 major periods: Guadalajara Period (1928-1935), the Commercial Period (1935-1940) and the Late Period/Post Modern (1940-1947 garden projects 1947-1975 houses). In the beginning of his career, ‘the functions of living were arranged according to the customary concept of domestic life: the open spaces were laid out to integrate nature into the organization of the house, while the atmospheres were connected according to a hierarchy that culminated in the spaces dedicated to the spiritual activity and prayer. Arranged with respect to value systems that configured each area as a component of an organism that lived to express a strong ethnical tension (…) using elements typically retained for ideological reasons by traditional Mexican architecture.’10 In his early works ‘the use of colour is restricted to minor elements’ carefully placing emphasis on certain areas: ‘banisters, latticework, doors of turned wooden spindles and glass, and the occasional window, piece of furniture, and so on.’ 11
9 http://casablanca-tours.com/tour/casablanca-airport-chefchaouen/ [accessed 30/04/2017] 10 Martinez, p-10 11 Martinez, p-32
GONZALEZ LUNA HOUSE (1929)
Gonzalez Luna House, main façade12
In the first studied building, Gonzalez Luna House (1929), there are ‘themes that Barragan would develop and polish for the rest of his life. ‘The house is a clear articulation of what a patrician home should be, confronting a vigorous regional
12 https://www.curbed.com/2015/8/6/9933216/21-first-drafts-luis-barragans-robles-castillo-houses-1 [accessed 01/05/2017]
tradition as well as the demands of new and disturbing forms of artistic expression from around the world. The influence of Bac is immediately evident.’13 The house has a fortress like appearance due to its Moorish inspiration, reducing the quantity of sunlight to the minimum necessary, creating shade and coolness as well as a feeling of warmness and comfort due to the colors used: yellow walls and dark brownred floor tiles. ‘Tall windows, transoms, shutters, wooden grillwork, colored glass are all skillfully used to achieve the right quality of light, the right expression for each area of the house. The control of detail is evident. 14
Ground and First floor plans, Gonzalez Luna House
13 Jublez, p-61 14 Jublez, p-62
The path from the entrance porch turns, rises a few steps and reaches the entrance loggia, the central element of the façade, a low and shaded space overlooking the front garden which acts as a buffer zone between the public space of the street and the private terrace. This path is flanked by a staircase and by a balcony leading to an internal staircase acting as a vertical axis - the tower, connects the front garden with the library and further to the chapel located above the living room. The sacred space, which is a recurrent theme in Barragan’s house design, is the most intimate, almost secret due to its set back from the front façade; nevertheless it suggests a position on top of everything, elevated, benefiting from unobstructed light filtered through three tall and narrow windows.
Living room, Gonzalez Luna House15
‘The combination of the staircase with the loggia (…) gives the entrance surprising monumentality and announces a solution accurately studied in relation to the succession of floors in the façade.’16 A longitudinal axis can be perceived; the hall divides the plan in two main zones without creating a well-known compositional symmetry. The night area at the right hand side, containing the two connected bedrooms and their bathrooms and the day area in the 15 Jublez, p-83 16 Martinez, p-41
left, the living room, the dining room and the kitchen and afferent rooms. It also connects visually and spatially the front garden, the arched loggia entrance, the vestibule, the living room, flowing through a narrow hall lit by a skylight, towards the back courtyard and arched gazebo and further opening into the back garden. The hall has an echo on the above terrace – a pergola running through the open space. The latter addition destroyed the I shaped plan, turning it into an L shaped, adding a transversal axis, emphasizing thus the power of the inner courtyard. An interest in an interplay between narrow and wide spaces can be seen; the small and dark vestibule opens on one side to a tall, elegant living room with little relation to the outside, followed by a narrow passage with a patio character; on the other side, it open to a dark exterior space contrasting the brightness and play of colours of the front garden. The pavilion in the back, on the South side, was set apart from the body of the house creating a dialogue with the garden it faced with the intention of bringing a ‘portion of the garden into the rooms.’17 Furthermore, it relates to the tower at the other end of the house, marking the ends of the axis. The back garden presided over by a gazebo that is both a source of and a place for conversation, continues the long debate over the tension between exterior and interior space that runs through and characterizes all of Luis Barragan’s work.’18 ‘The servants’ quarter reflects the local custom’: together with the kitchen were relegated to the end of the house with the kitchen acting as a composition and functional joint.19 Thus the degree of domesticity and privacy rises as one walks along the main axis. The high placed living room windows create a sense of solemnity – representational space. High windows allowing the people seated at the table to see only the crowns of the trees from the outside.20 The hall floor captures and enhances the light, creating a pool of light – the surface seems to be wet and cool; the same material, red clay tiles, have been used on the
17 Martinez, p-43 18 Jublez, p-63 19 Martinez, p-43 20 Jublez, p-13
exterior paved areas, extending inside the house, the hall seems to be part of the outside, the light enhances the impression of a patio.
Axis and functional diagram, Gonzalez Luna House
View of the
main corridor 21 View of the interior courtyard22
21 http://casahaus.net/2015/06/21/casa-gonzalez-luna-por-luis-barragan/ [accessed 30/04/2017] 22 http://casahaus.net/2015/06/21/casa-gonzalez-luna-por-luis-barragan/ [accessed 30/04/2017]
View of the garden pavilion23
GUSTAVO CRISTO HOUSE (1930/31)
Main elevation, Gustavo Cristo House
24
23 http://casahaus.net/2015/06/21/casa-gonzalez-luna-por-luis-barragan/ [accessed 30/04/2017] 24 https://www.pinterest.com/pin/478085316671831360/ [accessed 30/04/2017]
Gustavo Cristo House (1930/31) is a clear reference to African themes, Moroccan construction, noticeable in some details such as openings and finishing details’, subtle revealing the ‘presence of a certain primitive and slightly irrational spirit.’ 25 The textured plaster coat was experimented here for the first time. ‘The use of elliptical arches is unique in Barragan’s early work.’ 26Here, he begins to focus on a more a personal search, ‘beginning to distance itself from ‘the immediate references to Bac present in previous work.’27
25 Martinez, p-66 26 Martinez, p-67 27 Martinez, p-71
Similar to Gonzalez Luna, Gustavo Cristo house has a side path to the main entrance, an arched loggia, a small and dark vestibule acting as a buffer zone opening up into a tall main space, lit gently through three high arched openings. Unlike the previously mentioned case, the living room opens through an arch to a dark and low dining space, a heavy atmosphere surrounding the room, a sense of seriousness. Furthermore, another buffer room appears, separating the main living areas from the service ones, kitchen and its storage.
Functional diagram, Gustavo Cristo House
On the right hand side, a narrow passage, patio like, but softer in character than the one in Gonzalez Luna, connects the living room to a small interior garden, an outside room, opening up further, through an arch into a bigger interior garden. This two gardens act as the exterior extension of the living room, however, more domestic in their sizes and
character. The first one could be interpreted as the exterior dining room, being connected to the kitchen and the second, perhaps also the extension of the studio. The night area is laid out more logically, each bedroom is accessed individually. The house features a softer longitudinal axis than Luna house being divided accordingly in day and night areas but the main focus is placed on the living room. In both houses, Luna and Cristo, the living room has circulation function as well, linking the entrance to the back to the house. Upon entry, a U turn leads the visitor through a beautifully decorated staircase to the higher space, the chapel, as well scarcely lit, and placed on top of everything. The stair also allows access to the terrace, where both leisure and household activities are held (clothes drying etc.). Further down on the back staircase, a service court functionally gathers around the servants’ quarter spaces, with direct access from the back street, ending the spatial loop. In this regards, a mirror like organization is created, the house activities evolve between two functionally different exterior spaces on opposite ends. ‘The courtyard for drying clothes is on the roof of the house. There, with the skillful use of devices such as an elevated area and an archway that gives strength to the entrance, it becomes a ceremonial space, where the sun in its trajectory celebrates mysterious daily liturgies.’ 28
28 Martinez, p-72
Living room facing the main entrance, Gustavo Cristo House 29
Living room staircase30
29 https://www.flickr.com/photos/gustavomu/albums/72157629701917470/ [accessed 30/04/2017] 30 https://www.flickr.com/photos/gustavomu/albums/72157629701917470/ [accessed 30/04/2017]
Living room, facing the dining space31
‘Barragan avoids long perspectives and the formal landscape garden. Instead of distant views, there are enclosed spaces subtly linked to one another. Each of them has different dimensions. Each can be understood independently and at the same time as a part of an integral whole, the Hortus conclusus ( = enclosed garden).’ This system of articulating open spaces comes from the Roman garden, whose origins go back to the Sumerians and the Egyptians.32
Around year 1940, ‘he began to patiently bring to life the memories of childhood in the hills of Jalisco, (…) his travels through Andalusia (…) and all the places that kept resurging in his memory.’ 33He began again to ‘create the sequence of spaces, fountains, open areas, sculptures, and sensations that constitute the ideal surroundings for solitude and meditation.’ 34‘Materials and other expressive elements were stripped down to the bare essentials: plain, smooth wood surfaces; tables, chairs, chest of drawers, ceiling beams and floor boards. (…) He used different types of latticework, along with furniture of leather, and turned woodwork. 35
31 Martinez, p-50 32 Jublez, p-31 33 Jublez, p-112 34 Jublez, p-115 35 Jublez, p-115
BARRAGAN HOUSE AND STUDIO (1947-1948)
View of street elevation, Barragan House 36
Vestibule staircase, Barragan House 37
Barragan House and Studio (1947-48) is the first to be built after his Commercial Period (1935-1940). The influences of the Modernist Movement can be clearly distinguished. For the first time he crystallized the atmosphere that would be present in all the rest of his architectural work: profound suggestions of surrealism, the sturdy architecture of the convent, and a latent eroticism, barely visible in certain details.’ 38
The traditional irregular addition method of space organization was replaced by a rectangular outline cut down with clear lines and logically organized. In contrast to the previous houses where he used the method of addition, here the big rectangle seems to be broken down using a set of lines emphasizing the orientation towards the garden. However, the interior spaces retain the early Barraganesque character, cave like, heavy, protective. The beamed ceiling is still an important element, emphasizing, as in the previous examples, the day areas.
36 larryspeck.com/2012/02/03/luis-barragan-house-and-studio/ [accessed 01/05/2017] 37 https://uk.pinterest.com/explore/luis-barragan/ [accessed 01/05/2017] 38 Martinez, p-115
Spatial organization methods:1. Addition method – Guadalajara Period 2. Open plan division – Late Period
Barragan House and Studio plans
Orientation and limits diagram; Functional diagram, Barragan House and Studio
The house is introverted, turning its back on the street, the façade is aligned and very plain, giving no clue of what lays behind the great opaque wall. It focuses inward, ‘centered on a garden, which itself is surrounded by high walls except on the west. The house has been compared to an oasis with high walls to keep out the “urban chaos”.’
39
‘An exquisite sequence of objects (…) accompanied one’s passage through this fanciful yet deliberately ordered space.40
‘After entering the main door through the cold and soulless wall, one find itself a bare and dim foyer, which, just as the case of the two previous examples, acts as a buffer zone between the street and the house. Again, the floor receives the same treatment as the exterior spaces, a volcanic rock gives it the known feeling of a patio. 41The floor extends further into a high ceiling vestibule with a fuchsia washed wall and a simple staircase without railing, further to become iconic for Barragan’s style. The day areas evolve from this vestibule, setting the limit towards the actual dwelling spaces. Two dining rooms and a kitchen with a back access to the terrace, open up towards ‘a terrace and a jungle of garden, almost impenetrable’ due to the density of vegetation. 42
Similarly, the living room, divided by sliding panels, benefits from a full view through a huge frameless window. ‘In the library-sitting room, a series of screens divided the high ceiling space, emphasizing the dramatic character of the passageways.’ 43
‘The upper floor is a more private space with thick wood shutters for the windows. Access to this area and the roof terrace is via stone stairs lacking railings, a typical Barragán characteristic. The upper floor contains a master bedroom with dressing room, a guest room and an “afternoon room.’ Barragan’s library is at the end of this labyrinth, where he studied and meditated.’ 44 39 Martinez, p-5 40 Martinez, p-138 41 Martinez, p-5 42 Martinez, p-221 43 Martinez, p-138 44 Martinez, p-139
‘Geometrists say that architecture is geometry projected into space. This is what Barragan did. He imagined things and constructed them in his mind, weaving together environments an elements from his memories.’ 45
45 Martinez, p-33
Bibliography
Jublez, Jose Buendia, Palomar Juan, Eguiarte Guillermo, The life and work of Luis Barragan, Reverte Ediciones, 1996
Martinez, Antonio Riggien, Luis Barragan: Mexico’s Modern Master, 1902-1988, The Monacelli Press, 1996
Rispa, Raul, Barragan: The complete works, Thames and Hudson, 1995
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Barrag%C3%A1n_House_and_Studio accessed 31/04/2017
http://www.archdaily.com/102599/ad-classics-casa-barragan-luis-barragan accessed 01/05/2017