Alberto T. Arai (March 29, 1915 – May 25, 1959) was a Mexican architect,

theorist A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

and writer, of Japanese descent. Born in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, the fourth son of a Japanese ambassador in Mexico, Kinta Arai, Alberto T. Arai studied also philosophy, espousing

neo-Kantianism In late modern continental philosophy, neo-Kantianism (german: Neukantianismus) was a revival of the 18th-century philosophy of Immanuel Kant. The Neo-Kantians sought to develop and clarify Kant's theories, particularly his concept of the "thin ...

and becoming politically a socialist artist. He became a supporter of Functionalism, with its emphasis on the social applications of architecture, and was also a founder, with Enrique Yañez, of the Unión de Arquitectos Socialistas (1938), helping to draw up a socialist theory of architecture. He was one of the most active participants and attempted to put his socialist theory into practice on two unexecuted

project A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

s in the same year: the building for the

Confederation of Mexican Workers The Confederation of Mexican Workers (''Confederación de Trabajadores de México'' (CTM)) is the largest confederation of labor unions in Mexico. For many years, it was one of the essential pillars of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional ( ...

and the Ciudad Obrera de México, both with Enrique Guerrero and Raúl Cacho (1937), and his social worries on the unexecuted General Hospital project (to be built in the city of Leon, Gto). He was one of the commissioners to take topographical records from the recent discovered Mayan ruins of Bonampak, in an expedition organized by the National Institute of Fine Arts (1949). His urbanistic knowledge give him the opportunity to make urban planning to several cities along the country. Also he developed the theory of architectural regionalism, which attempt the use of material resources and take care of the human needs of each particular area.Arai, Alberto T., "Regionalismo Arquitectónico" en Regionalismo, Conaculta.INBA, México, 2003. Later, when Mexico opted for a developmental policy, Arai became a standard-bearer for nationalism in architecture. He re-evaluated traditional building materials, such as tree trunks, bamboo, palm leaves and

liana A liana is a long- stemmed, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the canopy in search of direct sunlight. The word ''liana'' does not refer to a ta ...

s, using them in a plan for a country house that was adapted to the warm, damp climate of the

Papaloapan The Papaloapan River () is one of the main rivers of the Political divisions of Mexico, Mexican state of Veracruz (state), Veracruz. Its name comes from the Nahuatl ''papaloapan'' meaning "river of the Butterfly, butterflies". In 1517, Juan de Gri ...

region, and various essays to improve the country and popular houses. The building of the Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico City, gave him his greatest architectural opportunity when he designed the "Frontones" de Ciudad Universitaria (1952). In these he used the

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

of the area to great effect in truncated pyramid shapes inspired by

Pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...

pyramids A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilate ...

. This was his contribution to the early landscaping-architecture, by using the volcanoes surrounding the view as a theme for his design. His numerous books and articles addressed conceptual problems in Mexican architecture and art. His last building was the clubhouse (Kaikan) of the Japanese Association, see

Japanese community of Mexico City Mexico City has a community of Japanese Mexican people and Japanese expatriates that is dispersed throughout the city. Many Japanese persons had moved to Mexico City in the 1940s due to wartime demands made by the Mexican government. Multiple Japan ...

, who was inspired on ancient Japanese and ancient Mexican architectural design, but with modern techniques and materials, successfully a modern looking piece.

References

''Who is who'', 1950, ''Biografía y Geografía de Mexico'', Porrúa, 1960, ''Enciclopedia de Mexico'', 1970 1915 births 1955 deaths 20th-century Mexican writers 20th-century Mexican male writers Mexican people of Japanese descent Artists from Mexico City Writers from Mexico City Architecture firms of Mexico 20th-century Mexican architects {{Mexico-architect-stub