Architecture without architects: Luis Barragán's glance through North-Africa and Middle-East architecture

Abstract

Casa-Estudio built by Luis Barragán, in Mexico City in 1947, was one of the multiple proposals made to resolve a general crisis that modern architecture as well as International Style in Mexico was facing at this moment. Modern ortodoxy's dissatisfaction was felt in different parts of the world; bringing a whole architect's generation to find references and to launch proposals which would emend or also complement the modern project apparently unfinished.

The break-up in Luis Barragán's work, in the mid-1940's, match with a serie of cultural's concerns of other architects wishing to enrich their own architectonical baggage with Mediteranean constructions. At the same time, Luis Barragán developed an interest for anonym architectures which can be seen in the extensive collection of books and magazines of his personal library.

Indeed, beyon this article, the reader will notice the multiplicity of pictures and referenced texts which shaped a relevant part of the architect's imaginary. In like manner, this material defined his critical approach which sustained a great part of architecture during the 50's and 60's. In other words, far away from placing Barragán's work in a line of thinking of regionalist's architecture, this is the result of an oscillation between tradition and present time. Therefore, this dialogue is closer to the vision of modernity constructed from a complex  and feedbacked relation between two or more poles.