Continuous Working: Architecture as Laboratory

Continuous Working: Architecture as Laboratory George Williams

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“Nostalgia is the poetic awareness of our personal past, and since the artist’s own past is the mainspring of his creative potential, the architect must listen and heed his nostalgic revelations.”

(Barragán,1980)

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Design is underpinned by research, Johan Verbeke (in Fraser, 2013) identifies 3 possible phases in which research can be undertaken through the design process, during the input stage (when the designer draws on previous knowledge,) in the final phase of “making the deliverables” and throughout, using design as the “key component of … research operations.” Luis Barragán practiced all these methods, and while the author acknowledges they rarely mutually exclusive, Barragán applied his knowledge and experience across his works, continuously underpinning his designs with his own, individual research process.

Barragán, as a modernist reinventing his familiar traditional Mexican architecture, was interested in colour and chiaroscuric qualities. He is universally recognised for his use of bright colours within minimalist1 design, he “offered a utopian vision of the unification of the vernacular Mexican style with architectural purity and simplicity.” (Park, et al 2009) and, perhaps most importantly, Barragán, drawing on themes of “intimacy, serenity, silence and mystery,” incorporated Mexican culture into his work, and produced what is often described as emotional architecture. (San Martin, 1996) While there is plenty of information, and an abundance of beautiful photography of his completed projects, Barragán’s research and process methodology is notoriously unpublished. Barragán’s works were “based on intuition,” drawings were not plentiful and nor is his design process particularly well documented. (San Martin, 1996; Pauly, 2002, p.8) He even went so far as to say during an interview that he had “never had any particular method” (Ugarte, 1989, cited in Eggener, 2000 p.38) However, despite this apparent lack of information, there are qualities within Barragán’s works, explicit and hidden, which contribute to his recognition internationally as having produced some of modern Mexico’s architectural masterpieces.An important feature of Barragán’s method is his independence, from professional labels as well as schools of thought. When in a position to set up practice on his own, San Martin (1996, p.102) writes how the opportunity allowed him “pursuit of an independent design inquiry.” The focus he allowed himself on his design process, was a significant contributory factor in all his projects, resulting in a particularly unique and beautiful range of works, from houses and landscapes to ranches and sculpture.Much of Barragán’s design developed during the construction stage, especially the qualities for which he is so well known; the use of colour, expression of light and shadow, and spatial relationships. However, each of his projects was used as a form of prototype, thereby experimenting and learning from that which he created before; in order to inform his next work. For Barragán, architecture was a process of “coming to terms with knowledge.” (Alba in Rispa, 1996, p.38) He designed, built and analysed the particular qualities of his projects which allowed him to continuously learn and transpose elements of previous work on future projects.

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Architectural minimalism, especially of that period, is often monochromatic. Barragán worked beyond plain white surfaces

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Colour: and Learning From It

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Landscapes and buildings under Barragán’s supervision were almost literally “built with colour.” (Swirnoff in Porter, 2009, p.28) The balance and relationship between form and landscape is chromatically expressed, such qualities are evident in all Barragán’s works and even on his more iconic projects, it is form which complements the colour.

Whilst Barragán is known for his particular style, an interesting point in his design evolution2 is his so called Rationalist stage, clearly influenced by his trips to Europe and reportedly having met Le Corbusier, for a short period Barragán rejected his neo-vernacular style and produced work, like others in Mexico at the time, in the international style. Whilst the buildings produced during this period themselves are of little consequence, the principles portrayed echoed through his future projects. (San Martin, 1996, p.102; Rispa, 1996) The impressiveness of Torres de Satélite would be diminished were it not for their striking colours, however, when producing sketches of the Torres, Barragán used pen and paper, and as with many of his works, he produced drawings in black and white (as shown in the image opposite.) Las Torres were not designed solely by Barragán; The project was a collaboration with Mathias Goeritz and Jesús ‘Chucho’ Ferreira, both friends who, crucially, were some of the few who he worked with when formulating colour schemes.

It is difficult to understand exactly how the colour palette for Las Torres was chosen. However, it is documented how the colour of the Las Torres changed during the rest of the century. When originally completed, Las Torres were painted in primary colours, very much in Bauhausian style and an atavism from Barragán’s Rationalist period previously referred to.The influence of the International Style is evident. (Rispa, 1996, p.163) Barragán and Goeritz later changed Las Torres to orange and red hues, the original idea for the towers. (Goeritz, 1970) Today they are largely returned to their basic block colours, however there are future plans to resurrect the orangey-red which Barragán and Goeritz desired.

2 Barragán had 3 design periods, as defined by Pauly. (2008) His early works were influenced by his Jaliscan upbringing and early trips to Europe. He experienced a (somewhat short-lived) functionalist stage before creating works in the latter period of his life which are often described as emotional (Pauly, 2008)

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Testing Light: Creating Space

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Paper models were made of projects before construction in order to explore qualities of light; these models were professionally photographed and Barragán paid great attention to such models in order to control the quality and quantity of the natural light. (Weber, 2013, p.158) The study of light in such close detail allowed for rooms to be designed with specific purposes in mind according to differing times of day and year, such as accommodating darker rooms for meditation and using light as a tool to exaggerate the threshold space between interior and exterior spaces. By making transitional spaces deliberately darker the user is aware of the change, from the (often hot and bright) Mexican clime, into the relative comfort of the spaces.

It was the use of these models as a tool for his process which provided Barragán with mandate to introduce such delicate and an almost obsessive control of light throughout the internal spaces he created. In his last work, the Casa Gilardi, a private house designed by Barragán, reportedly under the condition that the large Jacarandá tree was kept in the sun, whilst the owners requested a swimming pool as part of the scheme. Barragán centred the whole project upon these 2 features, however it was not until construction began that they were definitively resolved. Gilardi himself talked of how plans were drawn on “serviettes from Samborns and everything was was in his imagination” (Alanis in Pauly, 2008 p.147) Although plans were produced for construction, if Barragán was not content with its form then all manner of building components were extended, demolished, adapted accordingly until he was satisfied.

Figueroa and Castorena (2006) describe the way light enters into the house and hits the pool, indicated in the image opposite, as a “sun path experiment.” Barragán was obsessed by ensuring the correct colour and light of the space, he sought through his previous works for inspiration and “spent days contemplating the compositions” (Durão, 2010, p.9) of the core area around the swimming pool.

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Ongoing Design Evolution

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Barragán achieved the level of quality and international recognition by testing his ideas and designs not on paper, but in-situ.

As projects were under construction, he would visit the site daily, not necessarily checking the progress of construction, but checking he was satisfied with how the project was being realised. “He insisted that to create, it was essential to discover, observe and update what one judged to be valuable. This was the way, the only way, in which he worked.” (Fernández in Rispa, 1996, p.19) The image opposite (an unbuilt development, late in his career) attests to Barragán’s process, seemingly without reason, buildings are portrayed, yet clearly no form has been derived at this stage.

Barragán was also very conscious of how buildings change and adapt. The notion that buildings (houses especially) are never finished has been evident for millennia, however there is some theory regarding whether a building can change while it is being built, perhaps this attribute to Barragán’s works is what helped towards their significance. No matter how well represented designs can be before construction, “architects can’t really visualise how a building will look and feel … and so construction should be a prolonged process of cut-and-try.” (Brand, 1994, p200) Through the history of his studio, sketches and models were continuously produced, and while there are models of his buildings still in existence, conscious decisions were made by the architect to change and adapt projects throughout their construction.

Paul Smith chose the Casa Barragán as his “happy place” in Building Happiness (Wernick, 2008), it is a building Smith describes as breathtaking and inspirational as a result of the atmosphere created through the use of colour, lift and scale.

These qualities still reside strongly through the building, and are clearly evident today. However, even whilst building his own house, Barragán was undecided regarding how the walls should be finished and what colours they would finally take.

Light, too, was an integral element to the scheme, yet it appears that he wanted to test positioning of openings throughout construction.

Much as an interior designer today would test colours in-situ when deciding upon what finish to choose, the walls at Casa Barragán were initially whitewashed, with the definitive colour coming afterwards. Colour investigation for Barragán was an evolutionary process and he experimented with the use of colour; the palette remained consistent throughout most of his work, taking strong influence from traditional Mexican colours - oranges, reds, pinks - however, it was the application which changed. A red wall could end up being lighter, darker, or yellow, or orange. Barragán would mock-up walls with colour, in order to test his work, he would physically mount coloured paper to unfinished walls, evaluating the effect, before allowing surfaces to be painted. Again, evidence of his process and how his study worked (Alvarez-Tostado in Sennot, 2004; Pauly, 2008; San Martin, 1996)

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However, it was not only the use of colour which Barragán used as experiment whilst working on his house. Park et al, (2009) when describing the abstract geometric properties of the interior spaces, compare the house to an “experiment in simple geometry.” Whereby Barragán (apparently without explicit acknowledgement) used natural form in the Mexican landscape to create the abstracted spatial relationship. As much of Barragán’s development work, especially at this point, was largely unpublished, there can only be assumptions made as to how this affected his later projects. However, as Barragán admitted, his method of testing and learning through building is manifest in other works.

Again returning to San Cristóbal, spatial relationships were imperative to the design rhetoric. Ambasz (1976) described how even though the stables at San Cristobal were built some 20 years after Barragán built his own home, it is evident that they were both designed for the same person.

When initially built, the terrace (as seen opposite) at his house consisted of a veranda in a traditional Mexican style.

However, Barragán used this too as a testing ground for his ideas. He experimented with colour and texture on the surfaces which provided him with the purity of aesthetic he sought; as well as providing a modern interpretation of pre-hispanic residential space. (Durão, 2010, p.8) He considered his own house as under a state of change, whilst he created a building that he desired, walls and windows were adapted. Barragán was not afraid of how his own house changed and how it would go on to change in the future. “I think that everything will change, because architecture, like a living thing, changes with the way people inhabit the space.”

(Figueroa, 1989, p.102)

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Architecture as Autodictatism

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Although his career spanned more than 50 years, Barragán produced a lower proportion of works than would be expected, his reasoning for this is the intenseness of work was produced in his studio. He points out the laborious “search for the right answers” which his studio would undertake. (Figueroa, 1989, p.112) Whilst through his studio, works were developed through a more traditional process of drawings and models, much of the elegance and beauty of his buildings was designed as Barragán went along, “he imagined things and constructed them mentally, amalgamating ambiences and elements that emerged from his memory” (Buendia Júlbez in Rispa, 1996, p.27) Models played an important role in Barragán’s office, after initial concepts had been spatially drawn out in “the right direction,” (San Martin, 1996, p.108) large scale models were created, in which the quality and character of the space could be portrayed. These models were not produced with the intention of defining layout, but were used as a tool by which to study characteristics such as colour, texture and proportion.

Barragán’s technique was a deviation from other architects, models were produced to create designs, however they were not truly representative, as the design developed. His models and drawings, seemingly deliberately were not the “finishedlooking model and visually obsessive renderings [which] dominate the lets-do-it meeting” (Brand, 1994, p63) but they provided the client with an idea of design, the builder a goal and, quite differently, the architect with the basis for ideas to be founded, the specifics coming later as the project developed.

When working on the proposal for San Cristóbal, the project was constructed more or less as represented by the model, however the sculptural wall which defines the entrance to the pool was not fully resolved until Barragán took sticks, cloth and string (demonstrated in the model on p.12) mocking up proportions and scales until he was satisfied with how the wall looked and felt in-situ. (Alvarez-Tostado in Sennot, 2004, p.329) Fundamental to the way in which he worked, It is clear that for Barragán, the process of developing work as it progressed, was continual, from his choice of palette to arranging the positioning of openings, design development was fluid. Upon initial construction of the portico wall, Barragán was dissatisfied with its positioning. He arranged for the wall to be demolished and reconstructed some 50cm away from the original position. (Pauly, 2002, p.133)

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The unorthodox method in which Barragán’s designs were developed strongly contributed to his international recognition as an architect of repute. Whilst he was largely unknown until late on in his career, he deviated little from his unique practice, which he defined as a “process of discovery… in search of the right answer … to be perceived by the senses” (cited in San Martin, 1996, p.105) This method, of using projects as prototype, informing future designs, as well as experimenting with mock-ups and adapting building fabric through construction (and, indeed, after completion) established Barragán’s ethos, the manifestation of which can be seen throughout his work.

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Afterword

After graduating from Part 1, I was given the opportunity to work in Mexico. I lived and worked in Mexico City for 5 months. My place of work juxtaposed 2 particularly well recognised areas of the city: Ciudad Universitaria, the home of UNAM, and Jardines del Pedregal.

I was drawn to the beauty of Jardines del Pedregal. Having arrived at night and been picked up from the airport and driven, blindly, across the city to the arranged accommodation, I did not know what to expect. Rather than my first experience of the city being Centro HistĂłrico, as most tourists would first visit, the following morning I took a pesero to my new office. The bus hurtled down Picacho-Ajusco, barely stopping long enough for passengers to squeeze/hang on and pass their 4 pesos forward to the driver.

From my first day I was taken aback by the mass of colours and beauty of the buildings which lined the morning commute, starting from slums and roughshod concrete houses and finishing in Jardines del Pedregal, the contrast was near inexplicable.

Throughout my time in Mexico, I was amazed by the cultural knowledge everyone I came across seems to possess.

Identity is strong throughout Mexico and everyone is taught of both ancient and contemporary artistic values. I remember remarking at the time how impressive my friends’ knowledge was.

The way BarragĂĄn developed his design, in an anti-academic sense, is a method which I have adopted to some extent. When building and designing, I often have a mental notion of final design, and it is not until the construction process begins, that the completed article manifests itself.

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Bibliography

Ambasz, E. (1976) The Architecture of Luis Barragán. 4th edn. New York: The Museum of Modern Art. Barragán, L. (1980) Pritzker Prize Acceptance address. Washington.

Brand, S. (1994) How Buildings Learn. New York: Penguin Group.

Durão, M. (2010) ’Colour as Pathway of Light: Searching the Shadow in Luis Barragán’ Colour:Design & Creativity. 5(2010) pp.1-15.

Eggener, K. (1995) ’DIEGO RIVERA’S PROPOSAL FOR EL PEDREGAL’ Notes in the History of Art. 14(3) pp. 1-8.

Eggener, K. (2000) ‘Contrasting Images of Identity in the Post-War Mexican Architecture of Luis Barragan and Juan O’Gorman’ Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies. 9(1) pp.27-45.

Figueroa, A. (1989) The art of seeing with inncence: Conversations with Luis Barragán - El arte de ver con inocencia: Pláticas con Luis Barragán. 2nd edn. D.F. México: Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana.

Figueroa, A. and Castoreno, G. (2006) ‘Bioclimatic Lessons from Luis Barragán’s Architecture’, The 23rd Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture. Geneva, Switzerland, 6-8 September.

Goeritz, M. (1970) Highway Sculpture: The Towers of Satellite City. Leonardo. 3(3) pp. 319-322.

Park, J. Lee, H. Cho, Y. and Lee, K. (2009) ‘Neo-plasticity and its architectural manifestation in the Luis Barragan House/ Studio of 1947.’ in The Mathematical Intelligencer. 31(1) pp. 63-72.

Pauly, D. (2008) Barragán: Space shadow, walls and colour. Basel: Birkhäuser.

Rispa, R. (1996) Barragán The Complete Works. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd. San Martin (1996) ‘Luis Barragán: The Process of Discovery’ in Landscape Journa.l 15(2) pp.99-112.

Sennot, S. (2004) Encyclopaedia of 20th Century Architecture. London: Fitzroy Dearborn.

Smith, P. (2008) ‘Paul Smith’s Happy Place’, in Wernick, J. Building Happiness: Architecture to Make You Smile London: Black Dog Publishing.

Swirnoff, L. (2009) ‘Light, Locale and the Color of Cities’, in Porter,T and Mikellides, B. (eds.) Colour for Architecture Today.

Abingdon: Taylor & Francis. pp. 26-29.

Verbeke, J. (2013) ‘This is Research by Design’ in Fraser, M (ed.) Design Research in Architecture. Farnham: Ashgate. pp.137160.

Weber, W. and Yannas, S. (2013) Lessons from Vernacular Architecture. Abingdon: Routledge.

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List of Illustrations p.1:

by author. ‘Casa Barragán’ [Illustration]

p.4:

Barragán, L. (unknown) ‘Torres de Satélite’ [Sketch] in (1985) Essays and Notes for a Critical Overview: Luis Barragán - Ensayos y Apuntes para un Bosquejo Critico. Mexico: Museo Rufino Tamayo. p.69

p.6:

‘Pool and Dining Room Area of Casa Gilardi’ [Photograph] in Figueroa, A. and Castoreno, G. (2006) ‘Bioclimatic Lessons from Luis Barragán’s Architecture’, The 23rd Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture. Geneva, Switzerland, 6-8 September

p.8:

Barragán, L. (unknown) ‘Lomas Verdes’ [Drawing] featured at Luis Barragán retrospective at Museo Rufino Tamayo. available at http://es.slideshare.net/gamamil/luis-barragan-2010

p.11:

Salas Portugal, A. (unknown) ‘Views of Roof Deck’ [Photographs] in Rispa, R. (1996) Barragán The Complete Works. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd. p.123.

p.12 (top):

by author. ‘San Cristóbal Study’ [Model: timber, wire & cloth]

p.12 (bottom):

Silverman, S. (2011) ‘San Cristóbal’ at https://www.flickr.com/photos/pov_steve/6970794725 (accessed 01/12/15)

p.16/17:

by author. ‘San Cristóbal Fountain’ [Illustration]

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