Luis Barragán
Early Life and Education
Luis Barragán Morfín was born on March 9, 1902, in Guadalajara, Mexico. He grew up in a wealthy and conservative Catholic family. His father was a prosperous landowner, and Barragán spent his childhood on his family’s large ranch in the state of Jalisco. This early immersion in the rural landscape of Mexico, with its vibrant colors, its dramatic light, and its simple, vernacular architecture, would have a profound and lasting influence on his work.
He attended the Escuela Libre de Ingenieros (Free School of Engineers) in Guadalajara, where he studied to be an engineer. He graduated in 1923. While he never formally studied architecture, he was deeply interested in the subject, and he is considered to be a self-taught architect.
After graduating, he traveled extensively in Europe from 1925 to 1931. He was captivated by the cities and landscapes of Spain and the Mediterranean. He was particularly impressed by the Moorish architecture of southern Spain, with its beautiful gardens, its use of water, and its sense of mystery and enclosure. He was also influenced by the writings and the gardens of the French landscape designer Ferdinand Bac, who advocated for a more emotional and spiritual approach to garden design.
He returned to Mexico in 1931 and began his architectural practice in Guadalajara. His early work was in a rationalist, International Style, but he soon grew dissatisfied with the coldness and the universalism of the modern movement.
In 1936, he moved to Mexico City, where he would remain for the rest of his life. It was here that he began to develop his own unique and personal style, one that was a powerful and poetic synthesis of European modernism and Mexican tradition.
Architectural Philosophy and Career
Luis Barragán’s architectural philosophy was a deep and spiritual search for a “serene” and “emotional” architecture. He was a modernist who rejected the functionalism and the machine aesthetic of the International Style, and he created a new, highly personal, and distinctly Mexican form of modernism.
His philosophy was rooted in a belief that architecture should be a source of beauty, magic, and mystery. He was not interested in creating an architecture that was purely rational or efficient; he was interested in creating spaces that would move the soul and provide a sense of peace and tranquility.
Barragán’s work is characterized by its use of simple, massive, planar forms, its rich and vibrant colors, and its masterful manipulation of natural light. He was a master of creating a sense of enclosure and mystery in his buildings, and he often used high walls, hidden entrances, and carefully framed views to create a sense of a private and protected world.
He was also a master of landscape design, and he believed that the garden was as important as the house. He used water, light, and color to create gardens that were both beautiful and deeply spiritual. He was interested in creating a seamless and harmonious relationship between the interior and the exterior, the man-made and the natural.
Barragán was a deeply religious man, and his Catholic faith was a central theme in his work. He saw his architecture as a form of prayer, and he was interested in creating spaces that would inspire a sense of awe and wonder.
His career was a relatively quiet and private one. He was not a prolific architect, and he worked primarily for a small circle of friends and wealthy clients. He was a perfectionist who was deeply involved in every aspect of the design and construction process.
He was a man of great culture and refinement, and he was a friend and a patron to many of the leading artists and intellectuals of his time, including the painter Jesús Reyes Ferreira and the sculptor Mathias Goeritz.
Notable and Famous Works
Luis Barragán’s portfolio is relatively small, but it includes some of the most beautiful and influential works of modern architecture in Mexico.
The Barragán House and Studio (1948) in Tacubaya, a suburb of Mexico City, was his own home and is his most famous and personal work. The house is a masterpiece of modern architecture and a powerful expression of his unique vision. The exterior of the house is a simple, unassuming facade, but the interior is a rich and complex world of light, color, and texture. The house is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Gilardi House (1976) in Mexico City was his last major work. The house is a small but powerful building that is organized around a central courtyard with a swimming pool. The house is famous for its use of vibrant, surreal colors, including a brilliant pink and a deep blue, and for its masterful use of natural light.
The San Cristóbal Stables (1968) in Los Clubes, a suburb of Mexico City, is a large, equestrian estate that is one of his most beautiful and poetic works. The project is a masterful composition of massive, planar walls, tranquil pools of water, and vibrant colors. The project is a powerful and abstract landscape that is both modern and timeless.
The Towers of Satellite City (1957), which he designed in collaboration with the sculptor Mathias Goeritz, is his most important public work. The project consists of five, large, triangular towers of different heights and colors that are located on a major highway interchange on the outskirts of Mexico City. The towers are a powerful and iconic work of land art and a major landmark of modern Mexican architecture.
The Las Arboledas residential development (1962) is another of his important landscape projects. The project is a series of simple, powerful, and beautifully colored walls and fountains that are set in a grove of eucalyptus trees.
Awards, Honors, and Legacy
Luis Barragán received numerous awards and honors for his work. In 1980, he was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize. The jury citation praised him for his “commitment to architecture as a sublime act of the poetic imagination.”
His acceptance speech for the Pritzker Prize is a beautiful and moving testament to his architectural philosophy. In it, he spoke of the importance of beauty, silence, solitude, and serenity in a world that had become increasingly noisy and chaotic.
Barragán’s legacy is that of a poet and a mystic of modern architecture. He was one of the most important and original architects of the 20th century, and his work has had a profound and lasting influence on a generation of architects in Mexico and around the world, including Tadao Ando and Ricardo Legorreta.
He created a new and highly personal architectural language, one that was both modern and deeply rooted in the traditions and the landscape of his native Mexico. He was a master of light, color, and form, and he created some of the most beautiful and moving spaces of our time.
He was a man of great faith, culture, and refinement, and his work is a testament to his belief that architecture, at its best, can be a source of peace, beauty, and spiritual renewal. Luis Barragán died on November 22, 1988.