Mexico City | Origin Design Studio

Last week’s guide to the architecture of Mexico City took us from the structural expertise of the Torre Latinoamericana through the baroque bling of the Casa de los Azulejos to the sleek, simplistic Convento de las Capuchinas Sacrementarias. This week’s second half of out tep ten will showcase some of Mexico City’s finest, taking you from the pre-Conquest Aztec era right up to today’s modernism with a Mexican flavour.

6. KAHLO/RIVERA HOME AND STUDIO

The Kahlo/Rivera House and Studio; both photos courtesy of Adrián Mallol

Home to the famous fiery Mexican couple Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, the Kahlo/Rivera Home and Studio was designed by architect and artist Juan O’Gorman and completed in 1931. O’Gorman was deeply influenced by the work of the modernist Le Corbusier, who advocated function above aesthetics, and at first the structure looks to be a simplistic copy of a European discipline with its stilted sections, exposed services, geometric design and roof garden. However, the use of bright colours – a Mexican staple, but avoided in European design – along with the cactus fence and interior use of texture proves to be a mix of the two cultures, as well as being tailored towards O’Gorman’s famous clients. The use of distinctly separate living spaces – the red for Rivera, the blue for Kahlo (reminiscent of her childhood home, Casa de Azul, or ‘the blue house’) – brought together by a bridge that symbolises their passion for each other, emphasised by the scandalous way it connects to their bedrooms. O’Gorman himself was famous for using Mexican murals and symbolism in his art and architecture, and the building is now a museum to two of Mexico’s most famous cultural icons.

7. TENAYUCA

Left: Tenayuca double pyramid

Right: Stone Xiuhcoatl statue, with wall of serpents visible behind; both photos courtesy of Maunus

Tenayuca is a fascinating display of Mexico City’s past, situated in the heart of Mexico City D.F. and now almost entirely surrounded by modern city architecture. Whilst there is evidence that Tenayuca was occupied as early as 200 BC, it rose to prominence when the Chichimec tribe made it the seat of their power in 1224 AD, becoming an important regional power. However, in 1434 it was conquered by Tenochtitlan, becoming part of the Aztec empire, and was subsequently taken over by the Spanish. Bernal Díaz de Castillo, serving under Cortés, described Tenayuca as the ‘town of the serpents’, and these serpents can still be seen today, as a low interlocking wall of serpents around the base of the pyramid (originally plaster-covered and painted in bright colours), and as freestanding statues. These statues have star markings on their heads and represent Xiuhcoatl, the fire serpent.

The double pyramid at Tenayuca is the oldest example of a double pyramid that has ever been found, and the Aztecs adopted the structure for their own temples after conquering the city. Here, the temples of Tlaloc, the water and fertility god, and Huitzilopochtli, the sun and war god, were situated – Tlaloc’s on the northern side of the pyramid, and Huitzilopochtli’s on the south. The pyramid was constantly expanded and remodelled; the pyramid as it is now dates from 1507, but underneath is the remains of the original pyramid, which went through successive phases of expansion at approximately every 52 years – the Aztec calendar version of a century. Sadly, now, much of the knowledge of the Chichimecs’ way of life has been lost, but their legacy still remains in the stone of Tenayuca.

8. JUÁREZ COMPLEX

Left: The buildings that make up the Juárez Complex; photo courtesy of Legorreta + Legorreta

Right: The ‘water mirror’; photo courtesy of Edgar Barrera

Legorreta + Legorreta, the father and son architects from Mexico City, have produced a number of key buildings in their home city, as well as designing a number of international projects such as the Zandra Rhodes Museum in London, Pershing Square in Los Angeles and Japon House in Japan. Disciples of Barragán, whose convent design was featured last week, the duo use bright colours, geometric design, sharp angles and the play of light and shadow to create dramatic architecture in a vibrant cityscape. Built in an area that was devastated by the 1985 earthquake, the Juárez Complex is an innovative take on the traditional office block, using extrusion to break up the mass of the buildings and create drama within the mundane. The red concrete is reminiscent of the traditional Puebla houses, made of earth and mud, and the red tezontle stone commonly used in building cladding, and the base buildings are clad in pearled stone from Huixquilucan. As with many Legorreta projects, the interplay of light and water is a fundamental part of the design – here shown through the ‘water mirror’. This is a pool punctuated with more than 1,000 pyramids, with a series of hidden air injectors to create dynamic movement of the water. The complex is currently occupied by the Foreign Affairs Secretariat and the Superior Court of Justice.

9. PALACIO NACIONAL

Left: Traditional Mexican mural art by Diego Rivera; photo courtesy of Olivier Bruchez

Right: Exterior of the Palacio Nacional; photo courtesy of Jorge Lascar

The Palacio Nacional, home to government buildings such as the Federal Treasury and the National Archives, has an incredible history that reaches into the heart of Mexico City’s past. On the site that the National Palace now stands once stood Moctezuma’s ‘New Houses’ – a series of buildings that housed the official residence and governing buildings of the Aztecs. Following the Spanish Conquest, these buildings were rendered uninhabitable, but the building materials were reused to construct the replacement palace for Cortés, and later – following that palace’s destruction – for the construction of the National Palace. Much of the current Palacio is built from the materials of the original Aztec structures, and between 1926 and 1929 the facade was partially covered in red tezontle cladding, a material used extensively (and almost exclusively) in Mexican architecture and construction.

The Palace as it stands now dates from around the start of the 18^th century, although following Mexican independence from Spain in 1830 successive presidents extended and remodelled the building. The building is an essential part of Mexican history, housing the bell that Father Hidalgo rang to call for rebellion against Spain in 1810 (the bell was relocated from Guanajuato to Mexico City), and either side of the bell are statues of Aztec eagle knights and their Spanish counterparts, symbolising the synthesis of the two cultures. Within the building are housed many panels and murals painted by Diego Rivera between 1929 and 1935, following the Mexican traditional of mural art and depicting the history of Mexico and its indigenous people. These do not shy away from depicting the true ugliness of the Conquest, with scenes of rape and torture prominent amongst the fighting. Another treasure includes a statue of the admired President Benito Juárez, who guided the country through the French invasion and the Reform War of the mid to late 19^th century. This statue is made from the French projectiles at the Battle of Puebla and the bronze cannons of the opposing Conservative army during the Reform War, therefore creating art from the very history of Mexico and Mexico City.

10. CONJUNTO ARCOS BOSQUES

Left: Torre I; photo by Eneas de Troya Right: Torre II; photo by Abbaner Casmill

The dual towers of Conjunto Arcos Boscos are both commercial towers situated on the same site in the region of Bosques de las Lomas region of Mexico City. Created by architects Teodoro Gonzalez de Leon and J. Francisco Serrano, both of Mexico City, the towers were not built at the same time, but over ten years apart, with the first tower, Torre I, reaching completion in 1996, and Torre II reaching completion in 2008. Both towers, however, are linked in their edgy geometry and unusual design. Both use a double-tower system with regular square windows to create a grid pattern in the facades; both use white concrete and glass to create a clean, elegant and sleek look to the elevations of the towers. However, both skew the dual tower system through their use of linking bridges between the towers, producing a new take on the traditional cuboid skyscraper – Torre I with its unusual upside-down U shape, and Torre II with its blade-like central walkway. As with most cities, human nature decreed that Torre I has been given the nickname ‘Torre del Pantalón’ – the Trousers Building.

Honourable Mentions:

Torre Mayor: Structural expressionist skyscraper built to withstand an earthquake measuring 9 on the Richter Scale. Second tallest building in Latin America.

Torre Insignia: 1960s pyramid-shaped skyscraper that has become iconic in Mexico City. Has the largest carillon in the Americas, containing 42 bells.

Centro Nacional de las Artes: Itself a work of art, the buildings that make up the National Arts Centre have all been designed by iconic Mexican architects.

Palacio de Mineria: Showpiece of Latin American neoclassicism, built in the 19^th Century to house the Royal Seminar of Mines, but now a university engineering department.

Catedral Metropolitana de las Asuncion de Maria: The oldest Cathedral in the Americas, situated on top of a former Aztec sacred precinct using stone from the temple of the Aztec God of War, Huitzilopochtli. Built by the Spanish conquistadors, parts of the Cathedral date from 1573.

To outsiders, Mexico City might conjure up images of banditos, urban sprawl and smog, but Mexico City is a surprising jewel in the crown of the Americas. Once home to the ancient civilization of the Aztecs (also known as the Mexica), the conquering Spaniards completely reshaped the already heavily populated city (then called Tenochtitlán) and made it into the capital of Nueva España, mostly constructed from forced labour and over the Aztecs’ sacred ground. The Spanish government tried to keep Nueva España under a reasonably short leash, but a long war of independence was fought and finally won by the rebels in 1821. A four-year occupation of Mexico City by the French under Napoleon III occurred from 1863 until 1867, and the Mexican Revolution followed in 1910 and lasted for a decade, but the 1920s heralded a boom period for Mexico City. Following this, and right up to the present day, growth and migration has lead to Mexico City battling problems such as crime, pollution and overcrowding, but post-millennium great strides have been made in these areas and the city has become an iconic, vibrant hub of eclectic arts and architecture. We set out our iconic top ten of Mexico City’s architecture below.

1. PALACIO DE BELLAS ARTES

Above left: The Palacio de Bellas Artes at night; photo courtesy of José Alberto Ochoa

Above right: One of the masks of Chaac decorating the interior vertical lights; photo courtesy of Alejandro Linares Garcia

The Palacio de Bellas Artes (or the Palace of Fine Arts) may not at first glance appear typically Mexican – and this may have something to do with the initial Italian architect, who was influenced greatly by Art Nouveau and neoclassicism. Scratch the surface, however, and you’ll find that this is no ordinary European-influenced building. The initial construction of the project began in 1904, designed by Adamo Boari and based on European neoclassical design, but soon ran into difficulties as the ground proved too soft and the heavy marble began to sink into the subsoil. The subsequent Mexican Revolution led to construction halting completely in 1913 and Boari returning to Italy, and once the political situation calmed down the Mexican architect Federico Mariscal took over the design. Construction began again in 1932, when Mariscal fused the European outer shell with a more modern Art Deco interior, adding pre-Hispanic touches such as the masks of Chaac and Tlaloc that decorate the vertical interior lights and the serpents’ heads set into the window arches of the lower floor. This adds a quintessentially Mexican flavour into a beautiful but alien piece of architecture, weaving a story of Mexico’s struggle to retain its pre-Hispanic culture in the face of colonialism.

2. TORRE LATINOAMERICANA

The Torre Latinoamericana; photos courtesy of Eduardo Rodriguez and Eneas de Troya

The Torre Latinoamericana is not the most beautiful tower in Mexico City, but it hasn’t made this list based on its looks. The Latinoamericana is, after all, a celebrity of the skyscraper world, and a VIP of architectural circles. Completed in 1956, it is 45 stories tall, and was Latin America’s tallest tower – and what makes it so special is that it is the world’s first major skyscraper built in a highly active seismic area. The architects, Dr Leonardo Zeevaert and his brother Adolfo Zeevaert, were Mexican-born civil engineers that designed the tower’s steel frame and deep-seated pylons, as well as pioneering the study of the soil’s composition at the site of construction to test how the mechanics of the earth would affect the tower’s stability – a practice that is now mainstream, if not mandatory. Despite its detractors declaring that the tower was too tall to be strong in the face of an earthquake, the tower not only survived an earthquake in 1957, just after completion, but also weathered the huge 8.1 magnitude quake in 1985 that destroyed many other buildings around Mexico City. Today it is considered one of the safest buildings in the city, and paved the way for other massive structures in seismic areas around the world.

3. MUSEO SOUMAYA

Left: the hexagonal aluminium tiles that make up Museo Soumaya; photo courtesy of Yovany Gasca

Right: Museo Soumaya under construction, with some tiles still missing from the facade; photo courtesy of Adam Wiseman

In contrast to the traditional pre-Hispanic and colonial Mexican architecture that can be found elsewhere in the city, local architects are now designing innovative, intriguing structures that compete for recognition on a global level. The Museo Soumaya was designed by the internationally-recognised Mexican architect Fernando Romero, designer of the Bridging Tea House in Jinhua, China and the International Holocaust Museum in Texas, as well as winner of Architect of the Year 2010 amongst numerous other international awards. Funded by Carlos Slim, currently the world’s richest man, and named after his late wife, the Museo Soumaya is an abstract, organic shape that rises up from the ground like smoke, curving in the middle and resembling a Rodin sculpture. At 46 metres high, and covered in 16,000 aluminium tiles, the structure houses exhibition space, an auditorium seating 350 people, offices, a library, and a restaurant, gift shop and lounge, with the roof suspended from a cantilever to allow natural light into the top floor art gallery. The hope is to bring European art, a passion of Carlos Slim and his late wife, to the Mexican masses that otherwise would not have the money to experience it in person.

4. CASA DE LOS AZULEJOS

The Casa de los Azulejos; photos courtesy of Veronica V and Alejandro Mejía Greene

The Casa de los Azulejos, or the House of Blue Tiles, is an 18^th Century palace of which the facade on three sides is completely covered in the blue and white tiles of the Puebla region of Mexico, known as talavera. Built by the Count del Valle de Orizaba family, the current structure originates from 1793, but the tiles were added later during a period of remodelling. Two stories exist as to the origin of the tiles; one states that the tiles were added by the fifth Countess Del Valle de Orizaba after her husband’s death in order to demonstrate the family’s immense wealth, and the other tells of a wayward son who was told by his father that he ‘would never build his house of tiles’ – that he would never amount to anything. Legend has it that the tiles were added by the son after he inherited the house to prove his father wrong. Inside the house is an opulent courtyard, modelled in a Baroque and slightly Moorish fashion, which features a large fountain decorated in mosaics and surrounded by French-style columns, covered with a 20^th century stained glass roof. After a long and turbulent history, including being occupied by the Zapatista Army during the Mexican Revolution, the house was bought in 1917 by the Sanborn brothers, who made it into a successful flagship site for their chain of restaurants, and has now become a tourist attraction and local landmark.

5. CONVENTO DE LAS CAPUCHINAS SACREMENTARIAS

Latticework and glazing at the Convento de las Capuchinas Sacrementarias; photographer unknown

A tiny Mexican convent may seem an unlikely place for a piece of breathtakingly innovative architecture, but tucked within Mexico City’s quant Tlalpan backstreets is the Convento de las Capuchinas Sacrementarias, a 1950s modernist paradise. Designed by the iconic Mexican architect Luis Barragán, the convent and chapel is designed in a minimalist fashion, with its clean parallel lines and natural raw materials echoing the simple convent lifestyle. Rather than using pure minimalism, however, Barragán utilised light to create an ‘emotional space’, offsetting the austerity of the structure with beautiful glazing that turned the light entering the chapel into shades of sunshine yellow, caramel and rose red. Elsewhere, latticework allows light to stream through from the outdoor courtyard whilst decorating walls with shadow play and acting as a veil to allow an element of privacy. The result is a simple space where the warm lighting evokes colours of the earth, linking the manmade structure back to nature. The convent was Barragán’s last independent work – he financed the project himself – and is now a UNESCO world heritage site.

Join us next week for the second half of our top ten of Mexico City’s architecture.