Luis Ramiro Barragán Morfín (March 9, 1902 – November 22, 1988) was a Mexican

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

and engineer. His work has influenced contemporary architects visually and conceptually. Barragán's buildings are frequently visited by international students and professors of architecture. He studied as an engineer in his home town, while undertaking the entirety of additional coursework to obtain the title of architect. Barragán won the

Pritzker Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment which has produced consisten ...

, the highest award in architecture, in 1980, and his personal home, the Luis Barragán House and Studio, was declared a UNESCO

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 2004.

Early life

Barragán was born in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

Jalisco Jalisco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in western Mexico and is bordered by s ...

, Mexico. Educated as an engineer, he graduated from the ''Escuela Libre de Ingenieros'' in

in 1923. After graduation, he traveled through

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. While in France he became aware of the writings of Ferdinand Bac, a German-French writer, designer and artist whom Barragán cited throughout his life. In 1931, he again traveled to France with a long stop-over in New York. In this trip he met Mexican mural painter

José Clemente Orozco José Clemente Orozco (November 23, 1883 – September 7, 1949) was a Mexican caricaturist and painter, who specialized in political murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siquei ...

, architectural magazine editors, and Frederick Kiesler. In France he briefly met Le Corbusier and finally visited the gardens realized by Ferdinand Bac. He practiced architecture in Guadalajara from 1927–1936, and in Mexico City thereafter.

Career

His Guadalajara work includes over a dozen private homes in the Colonia Americana area of what is today near downtown Guadalajara. These homes, within walking distance of each other, include Barragán's earliest residential projects. One of his first buildings, Casa Cristo, was restored and houses the state's Architects' Guild. The first four houses that Barragan were already contemporary architecture.

Major projects

In 1945 he started planning the residential development of Jardines del Pedregal, Mexico City. In 1947 he built his own house and studio in

Tacubaya Tacubaya is a Poverty in Mexico, working-class area of Mexico City in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo, D.F., Miguel Hidalgo. The ''colonia (Mexico), colonia'' Tacubaya and adjacent areas in other colonias are collectively referred to as Tacubaya. ...

and in 1955 he rebuilt the ''Convento de las Capuchinas Sacramentarias'' in

Tlalpan Tlalpan ( , 'place on the earth') is a Boroughs of Mexico City, borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. It is the largest borough, with over 80% under conservation as forest and other ecologically sensitive area. The rest, almost al ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, and the plan for Jardines del Bosque in Guadalajara. In 1957 he planned

Torres de Satélite The Torres de Satélite ("Satellite Towers") are a group of sculptures located in the Ciudad Satélite district of Naucalpan, State of Mexico. One of the country's first urban sculptures of great dimensions, had its planning started in 1957 wit ...

(an urban sculpture created in collaboration with sculptor Mathias Goeritz) and an exclusive residential area, Las Arboledas, a few kilometers away from Ciudad Satélite. In 1964 he designed, alongside architect

Juan Sordo Madaleno Juan Sordo Madaleno (October 1916 in Mexico City – 12 March 1985 in Idem) was a Mexican architect. Biography Sordo Madaleno was one of the most important Mexican architects of his era. He worked with other renowned architects, including Lui ...

, the Lomas Verdes residential area, also near the Satélite area, in the municipality of Naucalpan, Estado de México. In 1967 he created one of his best-known works, the San Cristóbal Estates equestrian development in Mexico City. File:Fuente de los Amantes.JPG, Fuente de los Amantes File:Casa Giraldi Luis Barragan.JPG, Casa Gilardi File:Casa Liraldi Luis Barragán.JPG, Casa Gilardi File:Cuadra San Cristóbal (17423058118).jpg, San Cristóbal Estates File:Torres de Satélite - 4.jpg, Torres de Satélite (in collaboration with sculptor Mathias Goeritz)

Barragán and the Modernist movement

Barragán visited

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , ; ), was a Swiss-French architectural designer, painter, urban planner and writer, who was one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture ...

and became influenced by European modernism. The buildings he produced in the years after his return to Mexico show the typical clean lines of the

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

movement. Nonetheless, according to Andrés Casillas (who worked with Barragán), he eventually became entirely convinced that the house should not be "a machine for living." Opposed to functionalism, Barragán strove for an "emotional architecture" claiming that "any work of architecture which does not express serenity is a mistake." Barragán used raw materials such as stone or wood. He combined them with an original and dramatic use of light, both natural and artificial; his preference for hidden light sources gives his interiors a particularly subtle and lyrical atmosphere.

Honors

Barragán worked for years with little acknowledgement or praise until 1975 when he was honored with a

retrospective A retrospective (from Latin ', "look back"), generally, is a look back at events that took place, or works that were produced, in the past. As a noun, ''retrospective'' has specific meanings in software development, popular culture, and the arts. ...

at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. In 1980, he became the second winner of the

Pritzker Architecture Prize The Pritzker Architecture Prize is an international award presented annually "to honor a living architect or architects whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment which has produced consisten ...

. His house and studio, built in 1948 in Mexico City, were listed as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 2004.

Influence

Satelite Towers and Anillo Periferico BMAC

The work of Luis Barragán is often (and misleadingly) quoted in reference to minimalist architecture. John Pawson, in his book ''Minimum'', includes images from some of Barragán's projects. Most architects who do minimalistic architecture do not use color, but the ideas of forms and spaces which Barragán pioneered are still there. There have been several essays written by the Pritzker Prize recipient Alvaro Siza in prefaces to books that make reference to the ideas of Barragán.

Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whil ...

informally consulted Barragán on the space between the buildings of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California. According to the documents, Kahn's original idea was to place a garden between the buildings; however, Barragán suggested that an open plaza, with only a water feature in between, would better reflect the spirit of the location. This area, possibly designed with Barragán's advice in mind, is arguably the most impressive aspect of the building complex. He was a highly recognized consultor by many Mexican and International architects on landscape design, as he had a particular ability to envision the outdoor spaces and their relation to their interior paradigms and the natural context characteristics. Barragán's influence can be seen in the work of many of Mexico's contemporary architects, especially in

Ricardo Legorreta Ricardo Legorreta Vilchis (May 7, 1931 – December 30, 2011) was a Mexican architect. He was a prolific designer of private houses, public buildings and master plans in Mexico, the United States and some other countries. He was awarded the pres ...

's projects. One of the projects, where Barragán's concepts and colors inspired Legorreta, is the Hotel Camino Real in Polanco, Mexico City. This project reflects the importance of the native culture and its intersection with an elegant modern design.

Legacy

Barragán died at the age of eighty-six in

. In his will, he designated three people to manage his legacy: Ignacio Díaz Morales, Óscar Ignacio González, and Raúl Ferrera. Ignacio Díaz Morales, a friend and fellow architect, was bequeathed Barragán's library. He was tasked with choosing an institution suitable for receiving the book collection. Óscar Ignacio González, a childhood friend, received Barragán's personal objects. Raúl Ferrera, his business partner, received the archives and the copyright to the work. Díaz Morales established the Fundación de Arquitectura Tapatía, a private foundation managed by the Casa Barragán, in co-ownership with the Government of the State of Jalisco. The house is now a museum which celebrates Barragán and serves as a conduit between scholars and architects interested in visiting other Barragán buildings in Mexico.

added the Casa Luis Barragán to its

World Heritage List World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...

in 2004. Following Raúl Ferrera's passing away in 1993, the archives and related copyright became the property of Mr. Ferrera's widow who, after having unsuccessfully tried to find a collector or institution willing to keep these in Mexico, decided to sell them to the Max Protetch Gallery in New York. The documents were offered to a number of prospective clients, among them the

Vitra Design Museum The Vitra Design Museum is a privately owned museum for design in Weil am Rhein, Germany. The architect of this building was Frank O. Gehry. His architecture was based on the art movement of the early 20th century, deconstructivism. Making the bu ...

, which in 1994 was planning an exhibition dedicated to Luis Barragán. Following the Vitra company's policy of collecting objects and archives of design and architecture, the archives were finally acquired in their entirety and transferred to the Barragán Foundation in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Among the holdings in the archive are thirteen and a half thousand drawings, seventy-seven hundred photographic prints, eighty-two photographic panels, seventy- eight hundred slides, two hundred and ninety publications concerning Barragán’s work, fifty-four publications collected by Barragán, seven files of clippings, seven architectural models, several files of manuscripts, notes, lists, and correspondence, and also pieces of furniture and other objects. The Barragan Foundation is a not-for-profit institution based in

Birsfelden Birsfelden (Swiss German: ''Birsfälde'') is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. History Birsfelden is first mentioned in 1274 as ''minor Rinvelden''. Around 1500 it was first mentioned a ...

. Since 1996, it manages the archives of Luis Barragán, and in 1997 acquired the negatives of the photographer Armando Salas Portugal documenting Barragán's work. The Foundation's mission is to spread the knowledge on Luis Barragán's cultural legacy by means of preserving and studying his archives and related historical sources, producing publications and exhibitions, providing expertise and assistance to further institutions and scholarly researches. The Barragán Foundation owns complete rights to the work of Luis Barragán and to the related photos by Armando Salas Portugal.

Important works

All finished projects by Barragán are located in Mexico. * Las Arboledas / North of Mexico City (1955–1961) * House for the architect / Barragán House, Mexico City (1947–48) * Jardines del Pedregal Subdivision, Mexico City (1945–53) * Tlalpan Chapel,

, Mexico City (1954–60) * Gálvez House, Mexico City (1955) * Jardines del Bosque Subdivision, Guadalajara (1955–58) *

, Mexico City (1957–58), in collaboration with Mathias Goeritz * Cuadra San Cristóbal, Los Clubes, Mexico City (1966–68) * Gilardi House, Mexico City (1975–77) * Cuernavaca Racquet Club,

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; , "near the woods" , Otomi language, Otomi: ) is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state, state of Morelos in Mexico. Along with Chalcatzingo, it is likely one of the origins of the Mesoamerica, Mesoamerican civilizatio ...

Morelos Morelos, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Morelos, is a landlocked state located in south-central Mexico. It is one of the 32 states which comprise the Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Mun ...

, Mexico (1976-1980)

Luis Barragán House and Studio

Luis Barragán set up his studio in Mexico City, the building is currently a museum, but with tours available only by appointment. The building is from 1948 reflecting Barragán's preferred style, where he lived his whole life. Today is owned by

and the Arquitectura Tapatía Luis Barragán Foundation. The site became

in 2004. File:Luis Barragan House exterior 01.jpg File:Luis Barragan - Casa Luis Barragan 張基義老師拍攝 010.jpg File:Luis Barragan - Casa Luis Barragan 張基義老師拍攝 015.jpg File:Luis Barragan - Casa Luis Barragan 張基義老師拍攝 039.jpg

In popular culture

In Tite Kubo's

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

, the character Baraggan Louisenbarn is named after Luis Barragán.

References

*Peñaflor, Osvaldo "Fundación Barragán lanza sitio web que recopila 5 décadas de la obra del arquitecto mexicano" https://www.archdaily.mx/mx/tag/barragan-foundation about Barragan Foundation new site (in Spanish)

External links

Website of the Barragan FoundationLuis Barragan's house and studio (in Spanish)about Barragan Foundation new site (in Spanish)about Barragan Foundation new site
*
Artists Rights Society, Barragán's U.S. Copyright Representatives
*https://www.admexico.mx/arquitectura/articulos/espacios-luis-barragan-cdmx-edo-mex/5039 {{DEFAULTSORT:Barragan, Luis Modernist architects from Mexico Architecture firms of Mexico Pritzker Architecture Prize winners 1902 births 1988 deaths Architects from Mexico City Modernist architecture in Mexico 20th-century Mexican architects People from Guadalajara, Jalisco