View Full Version : [Mexico] Luis Barragán


melissa
17-09-2005, 17:24
LUIS BARRAGÁN

BIO from archinform:

Mexican, training as an engineer, thereafter journeys to Spain and France, where he discovers the books of Ferdinand Bac, a French painter and landscape architect, which he becomes acquainted with 1931 also personally. By it and by the Mauri architecture the garden becomes a place of the joy, thinking and dreaming for Barragán. Impressed of Le Corbusier and the Internationalen Stil, as well as of the simple rural architecture of its homeland, he, predominantly in his place of birth and in Mexico, builds Guadalajara D.F., in the 30's mansions and Appartmenthaeuser. By the friendship with the sculptor Mathias Goeritz originating from Danzig and with rosa ones and Miguel Covarrubias finds Barragán around 1940 to its own personal style, which resumes old traditions of its country in very modern way. 1940 Barragán four closed private gardens, 1944 three further, later to the enormous arranges rock area of the "Parque Residencial Jardines del Pedregal de San fishing rod" surrounded by walls at the edge of Mexico, D.F., to belong, whose total organization of 1945-50 lies in its hands and is then built into those luxury mansions, the theories of the Barcelona-Pavillons of Mies van the Rohe will take good heed of and effectively in the Mexican will transponieren. The own house builds Barragán 1947 in Tacubaya, Mexico, D.F., with a patio, whose walls are so high that they release only the view of the sky, with stairs without railings as architectural motive. The chapel for the Capuchinas Sacramentarias del Purísimo Corazón de Maria, Tlalpan, Mexico, D.F., fulfilled by golden light, shows Franziskani simplicity and solidarity with nature (1952-55); those farmsteads and plants for riders and breed horses, who justified Barragáns call, show in addition, the same spirit. Much intensive coloredness thought, connects themselves simple, cleaned walls out, by one impressively increased with water and vegetation to successions more lichtdurchfluteter and nevertheless in itself closed area: Arboledas (1958-61) read, lot Clubes (1963-64) and its eingangstor (1968-69), the pertinent San Cristobal (1967-68, in co-operation with Andrés Casillas). Barragán became most well-known by the 1957 in co-operation with Mathias Goeritz of developed five triangular towers at the motorway the northern satellite city of Mexico town center.

melissa
17-09-2005, 17:24
BOOKS: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/104-2782916-6359143

melissa
17-09-2005, 17:28
Chapel for the Capuchinhas Sacramentarias del Purisimo Corazón de Maria and Convent Restoration
1952-1955

43 Hidalgo - Colonia Tlalpan, Mexico City

melissa
17-09-2005, 17:31
Francisco Gilardi House
1976

82 General Francisco León - Colonia San Miguel Chapiltepec, Mexico City

melissa
17-09-2005, 17:34
Luis Barragán House and Studio
1947

14 general Francisco Ramirez - Colonia Tacubaya, Mexico City

sigue2000
17-09-2005, 17:56
A beautiful little photgraphical essay on Barragans works by his friend René Burri. About 10 US$ and worth it.

Look inside here (http://www.magnumphotos.com/c/htm/FramerT_MAG.aspx?Stat=Portfolio_DocThumb&V=CDocT&E=2TYRYD1EA29Y&DT=ALB).

sigue2000
17-09-2005, 17:57
Here's another list of books:

aroots.org (http://www.aroots.org/art-books/art-books-1010.html)

sigue2000
17-09-2005, 18:02
The Barragan Foundation (http://www.barragan-foundation.com/home.html) in Switzerland

primocordara
17-09-2005, 18:07
Please post pictures of his work those who have ones!

melissa
17-09-2005, 22:52
There it goes, primo! ;)

Luis Barragán House and Studio
1947

14 general Francisco Ramirez - Colonia Tacubaya, Mexico City

melissa
17-09-2005, 22:56
Lovers Fountain
1964

Fraccionamento Los Clubes - Atizapán de Zaragoza, Estado de México

melissa
17-09-2005, 22:58
San Cristobal Stables and Folk Egerstrom House
1967-68

Fraccionamento Los Clubes - Atizapán de Zaragoza, Estado de Mexico

msr
26-10-2005, 14:23
I first saw Barragan's house in 1968 when it was reproduced in a magazine. I remember that when I saw those photographs I had never seen such poetic spaces before. They were hauntingly beautiful.

Four years later, while I was an impoverished student and feeling like a moth drawn to a flame, I travelled from Toronto by car, then bus, then train to Mexico City and knocked on the door of Luis Barragan's house.

I said to him, "I have come all the way from Canada to see your work."

"Oh, you better come in then", he replied.

Barragan was a most gracious man. He gave me a tour of his house and adjacent studio and we sat in his study (the room with the cantilevered staircase) and drank gin & tonic and talked about architecture.

When touring his house I became aware of moving through serene zones of light and colour, something that is hard to convey in photographs. His house and garden were manifestations of Silence & Light.

When my visit came to an end he told me that he would arrange for his assistant to drive me around Mexico City to see his other works and this enabled me to visit the Egerstrom Ranch & other works.

I would love to be able to sit down & talk to him again......

ReD
26-10-2005, 17:58
I would love to be able to sit down & talk to him again......

Write up some notes or better a film script then we will all be able to.
That kind of experience has to be recorded.

msr
26-10-2005, 23:53
Write up some notes or better a film script then we will all be able to.
That kind of experience has to be recorded.

Unfortunately Barragan died several years ago.

ReD
27-10-2005, 00:32
Unfortunately Barragan died several years ago.

Sadly yes but your notes of the recollection of your meeting would inform all of us. And a brief film script when read can be extremely informative. Think expressions, mood, atmosphere, images.

Your experience with the man (short as it was) can provide a rare insight and can be seen as part of folklore. One that we would all envy.

A student encoutering a true master is a story that is always of interest.

Please don't waste this.

DacaD
27-10-2005, 03:35
last year i had to do a work about barragan studio house.i didnt knew his work till then, and i were amazed by the he uses colours in thediferente spaces o the house, anda also by the fact that every oject in the house has is own place including the intriguint metal balls tha reflects everyting around them.My teachers told me that barragan used them to see evrything reflected in the ball so he would never be caught by surprise.this of course acording by my teachers...
i model this house in sketchup but without the colours...if u want i can post it and maybe someone could put the right colours on it=)

PS:sorry for my bad english...=P

jparchitectus
27-10-2005, 03:56
Please post :rock on:

Would love to see it - even as an example

takesh h
27-10-2005, 03:58
Please post :rock on:

Would love to see it - even as an example
ditto. :cheers:

DacaD
27-10-2005, 21:50
hi again.i'll post the model next week because its in my year work cd and i borrow it to a friend.il also post a volumetric model of Baixa chiado-lisboa after the earthquake in 1755that was rebuild by markes d pombal(also other university work for last year).

msr
27-10-2005, 21:56
last year i had to do a work about barragan studio house.i didnt knew his work till then, and i were amazed by the he uses colours in thediferente spaces o the house, anda also by the fact that every oject in the house has is own place including the intriguint metal balls tha reflects everyting around them.My teachers told me that barragan used them to see evrything reflected in the ball so he would never be caught by surprise.this of course acording by my teachers...
i model this house in sketchup but without the colours...if u want i can post it and maybe someone could put the right colours on it=)

PS:sorry for my bad english...=P


DacaD,

I am glad you mentioned the metal balls. These balls are in fact made of glass and are coated on the inside with mercury I believe - or perhaps it is silver.

Barragan is quite a subtle architect at times. When he was giving me a tour of his house we passed a cantilevered shelf on which one of those balls sat. As I approached, out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly became aware of my reflection in the ball which got bigger as we got closer and the became smaller as we were passing. It was all over in a second or two but it is something that I will always remember.

I believe that this was the real function of the balls, not as a device for observing approaching people.

I'd love to see your SketchUp model! And don't apologize for your English - you are communicating very well.

Andrew B
18-10-2008, 00:34
I am just staring to find out about Barragan. Yes, it has been nice under this rock. Does anyone have any photographs of the Chapel of St. Peter Campos de Jordao? I may use it for precedent on my current studio project.

vOid
18-10-2008, 10:24
I am just staring to find out about Barragan. Yes, it has been nice under this rock. Does anyone have any photographs of the Chapel of St. Peter Campos de Jordao? I may use it for precedent on my current studio project.
Andrew, I'm sorry to tell you that you're mistaken, that chapel was designed by Paulo Mendes da Rocha, not Barragán. Check posts 8 and 9 of this thread (http://www.pushpullbar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2826).
You can get to know a bit more about Barragán without having to leave your rock :poke fun: by visiting the site of the Barragán Foundation (http://www.barragan-foundation.org/) (Sigue had already mentioned this link), there's an extensive photo coverage of some of his main works.

Andrew B
18-10-2008, 17:00
Thanks Paulo. Sorry for the confusion. That's what I get for trusting a google image search. Still, it was Barragan's simplistic water integration and use of shadow which caught my interest.