CASA LUIS BARRAGÁN

Visiting Casa Barragán in Miguel Hidalgo district, Mexico City, was a critical moment in my architectural education. I began to understand the meaning of an architectural sequence; how geometry, space, light, and materials can all come together as an abstract composition. But also the way architecture can be the setting for a powerful emotive experience and expression of identity beyond the individual. How a place can be both modern and mysteriously archaic, bringing together the encounters of the architect in his own life. Through this powerful aesthetic force, Barragán set the stage for contemporary architecture in Mexico, and his works remain as relevant today as when they were built more than 50 years ago.

BETTINA WOODWARD Principal Architect and Founder Open City Architects www.opencity.co.za