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IV) BARRAGÁN AND DE STIJL (1)

(1989)
ENRIQUE BROWNE

Luis Barragán was born in 1902, in Guadalajara, Mexico four years after the
Finnish architect Alvar Aalto and five years before the Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. Besides this
generational kinship, they shared the drive to recast the Modern Movement in their architecture within the
particular conditions of their own countries.

From Barragán's biography2, it is easy to see how he absorbed the conditions of

his physical and cultural milieu. It is more complicated to elucidate his relationship with the artistic and
architectonic universal heritage. In any case, it is evident that the primary source of his architecture is
rural. He evokes his youth on the family's hacienda: "It is a memory of the ranch with horses, of the
countryside. My work is to transpose this nostalgia to the contemporary world. Since childhood, I have
enjoyed popular architecture: the white-washed walls, the happiness and bewitching quality of the patios
and gardens, the brightly colored houses, aqueducts, watering troughs and barns. I have wanted to
transpose all this tradition, restore it, and the beautiful manner in which problems of community life are
resolved, to give people a bit of the flavor of spiritual absorption produced in the country and the inner life
that is lacking in modern cities"3. Barragán also recognizes the influence of friends in his appreciation of
Mexican culture, especially emphasizing that of the painter Jesus (Chucho) Reyes.

The Moorish-Spanish tradition was another well-known influence on Baraga’s

work. He traveled to Andalucía in 1924, visited the Alhambra and was fascinated by the walled
enclosures, the sounds of the fountains and water channels 4. This influenced his landscaping and his
architecture. He said, "Architecture, as well as being spatial, is musical. Water plays music. The
importance of the walls is that they isolate one from the exterior space of the street. The street is
aggressive, even hostile. With silence, we can play with water like music"5. Barragán's first works in
Guadalajara (1927-31) show the previously mentioned influences. On a trip to Europe between 1931 and
1932, Barragán made contact with two people who were foreign to his immediate cultural environment.
He met the French writer and landscape architect Ferdinand Bac and attended lectures of Le Corbusier.
The impact of the latter can be seen in his buildings after his move to Mexico City in 1936, especially in

1 *Report presented at the International Symposium on Luis Barragán, organized by the Mexican Association of
Architects and Society of Mexican Architects, presented in Guadalajara, Mexico, November 1989. Published in a
shortened form in the magazine Artes Y Letras, in the El Mercurio newspaper (Santiago, Chile) August 27, 1989
and in the magazine Arquitectura Viva [Madrid], no. 7 (September 1989).
2See in this respect: Emilio Ambasz, The Architecture of Luis Barragán (New York: The Museum of Modern Art,
1976) and Anibal Figueroa Castrejón, "El arte de ver con inocencia. Pláticas con Luis Barragán," Cuadernos
Temporales 13 (Mexico: Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, 1989).
3Luis Barragán's acceptance speech for the Pritzker Prize, Washington, DC. 1980.
4Emilio Ambasz, op. cit.
5Interview with Mario Schjetnan in "Luis Barragán. The Influential Lyricist of Mexican Culture," Landscape
Architecture (January 1982).
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his building in the Plaza Melchor Ocampo (1940). The double-height interior was inspired by the Swiss-
French master, as was the ease of the façade's treatment. His contact with modern architecture was
further reinforced by his association with Max L. Cetto, a German who had immigrated to Mexico before
the Second World War. Cetto studied in Berlin with Poelzig, knew the Bauhaus, struck up a friendship
with Gropius and became a part of CIAM6.

From the time Barragán left commercial architecture in 1944, the great quantity of
elements combined in his mature work to open a field of analysis which is broader, more complex, and
difficult to define. Emilio Ambasz sees minimalist tendencies 7. More importantly, however, Ambasz
emphasizes the connections with surrealism, an aspect which Barragán himself reaffirmed in later
interviews, speaking of his interest in De Chirico, Magritte and Delvaux 8. But the artistic sources that
absorb Barragán appear to be even more diverse, which may be explained by his particular self-taught
formation. He rose early each morning and worked until four in the afternoon, in the studio attached to
his home. He then retired to read about art and architecture, from which he derived a great deal of his
information. For example, he visited the Alhambra and returned laden with books about the Islamic
architecture of North Africa, a place he didn't actually visit until 25 years later. In any case, a complete
vision of his artistic preferences can be gleaned from looking at his generous library. In the meantime,
this and other attempts at deepening the analysis of Barragán will remain as hypotheses.

The prior analysis serves as an introduction to the topic that really interests me:
the possible links between the work of Barragán and De Stijl. My hypothesis is that there are many points
of contact in these works. The scant attention which has been given to this relationship is surprising.
Ambasz includes only one sentence in this respect 9. William Curtis' essay has two10. The Dutch
movement, De Stijl, lasted from 1917 to 1931, during which the magazine of the same name (Style) was
published, under the direction of Theo Van Doesburg. Piet Mondrian, (who deepened the theoretical
basis under the name “neo-plasticism”) was a stellar figure, along with architect and furniture designer
Gerrit Rietveld. Other painters such as Van der Leck and Vilmos Huszar, architects including J. J. P.
Oud and Jan Wils and poet Anthony Kok also participated. The movement published its first manifesto in
1918 and was influenced by the philosophy of mathematician M. H. Schoenmaekers, who originated the

6"Testimonios Vivos. 20 Arquitectos," Cuadernos de Arquitectura y Conservación del Patrimonio Artísitico

[Mexico],no. 15 and 16 (May-August 1981).
7Emilio Ambasz, op. cit. Because of the publication date (1976), only a preliminary sketch of a work as important
as the Casa Gilardi (1976-79) is included.
8Mario Schjetnan, op. cit.
9Speaking of popular Mexican architecture, with patios and cloistered gardens, Ambasz points out that this
architecture supposes "...the interplay of positive and negative volumes: masses and voids. In this tradition, the void
plays several roles; it is the vessel for light and shadow, and it also serves as the compositional nexus binding the
different masses. Barragán's architecture recognizes similar roles for the void, but assigns it stronger dynamic
properties by dematerializing some of the surfaces defining its edges. In a process of further abstraction, Barragán's
masses are condensed into planes." Emilio Ambasz, op.cit.
10Curtis points out that "the flat walls, projecting elements and platforms that extend from the interior toward the
surrounding nature seem to derive from the villas designed by Mies Van der Rohe in the twenties and thirties." In
another paragraph about Las Arboledas, he says that "...the coolness of the world of the Alhambra is recast in a
certain way in a language that derives from Mies Van der Rohe and Mondrian." William Curtis, "Laberintos
intemporales. La obra de Luis Barragán," Revista A & V [Madrid] no.13 (1988).
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idea of the cosmic significance of the primary color palette 11. The movement also recognized the
concepts of Frank Lloyd Wright, already known in Europe.

Among this group's propositions, there are two that are of interest to note here.
One is the explosion of the pure cube into independent planes, a concept that originates with Wright. But
in Wrifht this explosion starts centrifugally from the symbolic center of the house (the chimney) to open up
towards the exterior. In a process of greater abstraction, Van Doesburg and others progressively
eliminated the center, freeing themselves from the constructive references and emphasizing surfaces as
independent planes suspended in space. The culmination of these ideas is in their isometrics for the
Analysis of the Architecture for a Private House (1923). A more concrete application of these concepts is
the Schröder House that Rietveld designed in 1924. The echo of these concepts can also be
appreciated in 1929 in Mies Van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion.

Illustration 1: Theo Van Doesburg Illustration 2: Gerrit Rietveld

“Analysis of the Architecture for a Private House”, 1923 “Schoder House”, Utrecht, 1924
(drawing by Clara Guzmán) (drawing by Claudio Peña)

The creation of pictorial interiors is another aspect related to Barragán. Color,

freed of figurative association, is fused with the architecture to form "total works of art." These
environments would be a microcosm of the city, which the De Stijl artists hoped to someday transform into
a larger, counterbalanced composition. These interior environments can be appreciated in a dozen
projects in which architects and painters collaborated 12. In the beginning, the role of painting was
subordinate to architecture and emphasized its constructive and spatial logic. After 1921, the theory
began to vary. Color became as important as or even more so than architecture in the determination of
the environment. This was important in the treatment of interior spaces, where the "cube" could not be
opened except through color, which floated among the constructed planes. The application of color to
the "problem of corners" was also key in this respect. One example was designed by Piet Zward. In 1921

11Kenneth Frampton, Historia Critica de la Arquitectura Moderna (Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili S.A., 1981).
12See Nancy Troy, De Stijl Environment (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 1983).
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he was asked to design stard, and it seems he consulted with Huszar. Their final design was centered on
the corner, the nucleus of their composition. Planes of color crossed walls, ceilings and floors to achieve
a harmonious composition. The collaborative equilibrium was later broken. Without renouncing their
ideals, many (such as Mondrian, Rietveld and even Van Doesburg) suggested that the same person
could be responsible for color and architecture. They subsequently took divergent paths. Architects
focused on functional and structural aspects and painters on color as a medium for determining abstract
space, at times in opposition to its architectonic base 13.

Barragán's architecture began to have contact with De Stijl in the now-destroyed

entrances to the Pedregal Gardens (1945-50). He built huge walls of local stone and installed water
fountains, achieving a notable synthesis between neo-plasticism and natural elements. This affinity is
later evidenced as much in his use of independent planes as in his use of color. The first aspect is clear
in a project that was never constructed: The Open Chapel for Lomas Verdes (1964-1967). It can also be
appreciated in the water troughs of Las Arboledas (1961) and Los Clubes (1964). But I insist that what
gives Barragán's projects his stamp is his formation of planes from natural elements, such as tree trunks
and water.

Illustration 3: Mies Van der Rohe Illustration 4: Luis Barragán

Barcelona Pavilion “Open Chapel for Lomas Verdes”
1929 México, 1964-67

With respect to color, Barragán's use of his palette set him apart. He used not
only primary colors, but hues that "awaken our emotional fiber: Mexican rose, blue, purple, orange, in
summary, colors which are a legacy from our ancestors"14. Barragán's intention has always been to join
time with place: to bring together modern architecture and Mexican peculiarities. This is clear in one of
his few theoretical statements. When he was commissioned to do the Egèrstrom House and San
Cristobal Stud-farm, the owners asked for a design similar to the Swedish farms of their homeland.
Barragán told them "with great pleasure I would build them a Swedish farm, but I didn't think it would be
the most appropriate." Wouldn't it be better to build "...a Mexican house with all the elements that
characterize the place where you are? After thinking it over, the Egèrstroms agreed to my suggestion."

13Such as in Van Doesburg's Café L'Aubette (Strasbourg 1928).

14"Testimonios Vivos. 20 Arquitectos , "op. cit.
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He later said, "This is contemporary Mexican architecture. It is not Mexican colonial style because I think
that is a false style. Architecture should express its time, the moment in which it was constructed"15.

But in relation to my hypothesis, I want to emphasize that the Casa Gilardi (1976-
79) stands out. It is located in the neighborhood of Tacubaya, very central in Mexico City. It is a
neighborhood with low attached houses, of unmatched colors and volumes. The house's terrain is
scarcely nine meters wide by thirty long. Barragán positioned the house on the border with the street.
He developed a plan with two bodies joined by a corridor, forming a central patio, a typical typology in the
popular architecture of Latin America.

1. entrance 8. pool
2. hall 9. patio
3. laundry 10. studio
4. service room 11. living room
5. kitchen 12. terrace
6. gallery 13. bedroom
7. dining

1m.

Illustration 5: Luis Barragán

Plans for casa Gilardi
1976-79

The front cubic body has three levels and no decorative detail. It is quite
hermetic to isolate the house from the city's noise. It is painted rose, which livens the neighborhood. At
street level, a good part is taken up by parking and service areas. The entrance is accessed by a narrow
passageway that gives a minimalist scale with natural overhead lighting. The living room and the study
are on the second level. In soft shade, both have a small elevated patio, walled and painted with bright
colors. These patios originate with the Le of Corbusier's terrace-garden typology, which Barragán
employed in the '40s in his own house, for example. Barragán progressively closed to isolate them from
the immediate context and, at the same time, to open them to the sky and clouds 16. Then he added color.
He thus converted the terraces into elevated patios with a contemplative atmosphere.

15In Anibal Figueroa Castrejón, op.cit.

16Le Corbusier used a similar solution in the Charles Beistegui Apartment in Paris (1930), but with a different
atmosphere(it was more a room without a roof, than a patio). It produced a surrealistic environment accentuated by
the presence of an old chimney.
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Illustration 6: Luis Barragán Illustration 7: Luis Barragán

Casa Gilardi_View from the street Patio casa Gilardi
México D.F. (1976-79) 1976-79

The front body connects with the back through a gallery that forms one side of the
central patio. Upon arriving there, a breath-taking vision awaits. The alabaster of the windows converts
the passage into a golden tunnel, which leads to a covered pool with a rustic dining area. The pool is
partially illuminated with overhead natural lighting, which falls from one corner. A red wall seems to
penetrate into the water while supporting another roof rose above. The rest is white. The colors vibrate
with the movement of the water. The space is illuminated as well through a large window that opens onto
the patio. An atmosphere of peace permeates this poetic place.

Illustration 8: Luis Barragán Illustration 9: Luis Barragán

Casa Gilardi_View of the corridor Casa Gilardi_Interior view
1976-79 1976-79

The antecedents of this pool-dining area can be traced to colonial Mexican

architecture, as is the Borda Garden's pavilion over the pool in Cuernavaca. In Barragán's own work, the
pool of the Egèrstrom House (1968) leads the way for the Casa Gilardi. The pool-dining area also brings
to mind one of the most notable De Stijl interiors, the Spatial Composition in Color for an Exhibition, which
Rietveld designed and Huszar painted (Berlin, 1923)17. It was designed as a temporary creation to
demonstrate how a livable modern space might look. It is unclear whether it was ever constructed, but it
is known through plans which appeared in L'Architecture Vivante in 1924 and through photographs of the
model. I am not sure whether Barragán was even familiar with it. Nevertheless, the Composition and the
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pool-dining area share various aspects. Both attempt to be a "total work of art," integrating architecture,
color and furniture. They are both terminal spaces (you enter and leave through the same point) which
are relatively simple (Rietveld adjusted the space, closing one diagonal orthogonally and opening
another as an entrance). Both spaces are approximately nine by nine meters with an unattached wall in
the interior and an elemental height variation in the ceiling. Both spaces use blue, red and yellow (in the
pool-dining area, the yellow results from the light of the passageway).

Illustration 10: V. Husznar y G. Rietveld Illustration 11: Luis Barragán

Spatial Composition in color for an exhibition Pool – Dining room
1923 Casa Gilardi
1979

In the Huszar and Rietveld project, color is liberated from the architecture,
applied in independent planes, flying over the surfaces and opening the pure cube. If Barragán's use of
color emphasizes the architecture, it also underlies his desire to open the enclosure. This can be seen in
the blue corner of the pool (that also appears, albeit "flying," in the Composition). The sensation of
liberation of that corner of the enclosing wall is further accentuated by the overhead natural lighting and
by the artificial thickening of the attached walls. Another resource used is the red wall that surrounds the
space. The third resource is the hidden corner of the wall attached to the large window by means of a
storage area. Here the parallels end.

In the Composition the unattached wall at the entrance formed a small corridor
that inspires a spectator's movements; he is drawn into entering an environment progressively more
complex in color and treatment, which includes a Rietveld chair. Responding to Huszar's desire to
"plastify the spirit of the times," the Composition attempts to have the spectator experience an absolutely
abstract space, valid in itself and devoid of other practical reference to a program, structure or exterior
environment. On the other hand, following the thinking of Mondrian, surfaces should be soft and bright,
to give the impression of artificial, machine-produced components. In this way, the environment would
reflect universal aesthetic principals, abandoning the color and texture of natural materials, which would
evoke subjectivity.

17Nancy J. Troy, op. cit.

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Illustration 12: Vilmos Huszar and Gerrit Rietveld Illustration 13:Luis Barragán
“Spatial Composition in color for an exhibition Casa Gilardi
Berín, 1923 (drawing by Claudio Peña) 1979
Extracted from Nancy J. Troy “The Stijl Envirodment”,
MIT Press, USA, 1983

The above differs drastically from Barragán's pool-dining area. To begin with,
although Barragán tends to lighten the spatial covering, he reinforces the sense of place. He holds up
the plan's implicit movement by placing the red wall over the water, impeding circulation around it. He
emphasizes this by placing the wall in front of the entrance. All of this creates an environment with a
sense of peacefulness. Variation does not derive from the spectator's position but from the vibrations of
the light over the water and walls. As before, color is not independent of the architecture, but rather
accentuates it. It is a minimalist space, but not a pure abstraction. Natural elements, such as light, water
and wall texture, stand out. The rustic and accessible dining area of the Casa Gilardi couldn’t be more
different from Rietveld's beautiful but uncomfortable furniture. Finally, the greatest difference is that the
De Stijl work could be located anywhere. It supposes a universal space to which the individual must
adapt. Barragán, on the other hand, looks for a synthesis between the modern aesthetic and the
concrete necessities of his Mexican client: tranquility, the privacy of the adjoining patio, invigorating year-
round use, intimate dining between water and light. And this is what makes Barragán's space so
unforgettable.