House of Mexican Architect Luis Barragán - L'Essenziale, Interiors Blog

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Mexico City is a real treasure in terms of architecture. One example is the house and the studio of Luis Barragán, one of the most famous architects of the 20th century.

Built at the end of the 40s of the 20th century, the Barragan house is a fine example of modernist architecture and minimalism. The house is located in the suburbs of Mexico City – Takabuya. In the house, there are 10 rooms, among which there is even a room for changing clothes after horse walks, which Barragan liked so much and regularly did in the garden adjacent to the house. The total area of the house and garden is 2000 m².

The windows in the house are arranged in such a way that thick branches of trees rest against them and give the impression that you are in the garden. All the windows are made in different sizes. Barragan perceived every window as another work of art – as a picture. From every garden he wanted to “make a house, and from house a garden.”

The first room in the house you will see is the hallway. The bright pink wall gives the impression that the entire hallway is pink, although, in fact, it is not true – some of the walls are white. The focal point that immediately catches your attention is the golden painting. It gives the impression that it’s sunny weather all the time.

Each space in the house has its own memorable detail. It could be a window of unusual shape, or sculpture, or the color of the walls. In the house, there are a lot of quirky objects. For example, huge mirror balls, looking at which you can see the whole room and your own reflection. Being in the house of Barragan, you feel like among theatrical scenery.

In the guest room above the bed hangs a portrait of Madonna with the baby. Barragán paid much attention to work with light, color, and shape. Only in one place in the house is the upper light (the lamp was presented to Barragán by his friend). In other rooms, the light is either natural, or it is a small table lamp.

The house of Louis Barragán is not only a monument of design and architecture but also a museum of modern art. There are canvases of modern artists, expressionists – such as Matias Gerits, Pablo Picasso (he personally presented Barragan with his painting), you can also see the statuette of Pritzker, the work of Henry Moore, which was given to Barragan as a gift.

The garden initially was supposed to be just a well-groomed grass lawn, but then the architect decided to allow the free growth of plants (including jasmine and narcissus), which would create a sense of contemplation of wild vegetation. The garden itself is small, but it looks bigger, as it borders to the adjacent neighbor’s garden.