Parallels

Parallels

I am currently taking a class called The Great Houses of Los Angeles. Every week we talk and discuss about the ideologies behind the projects, and then during the weekend we go and experience the spaces ourselves. From this course I have learned that every project, every house, every design element has an intention, and it is up to the user to asses if the architecture is successful at portraying it. So as I learn about the history of Los Angeles, I began to draw correlations with Mexico City and especially the neighborhood I call home. 

Stahl House - Pierre Koenig - CSH #22

From 1945 to 1966, a residential experiment in Southern California known as the Case Study Program was trying to create a new type of efficient and inexpensive model home for the housing boom that came after the end of World War II. The Case Study Program commissioned major architects of the era - Neutra, Koenig, Saarinen, Quincy Jones, Charles and Ray Eames - and focused on building 36 projects mostly across the Los Angeles metro area. The impact the project had on the residential architecture of Los Angeles was immense, but it expanded beyond Southern California and even crossed over the border to Mexico City. 

Charles & Ray Eames House - CSH #8 

Using the Case Study Program as a template and inspiration, the architects in Mexico City began to plan a similar project in the outskirts of town. In 1946, the first of these urban projects was presented: Jardines del Pedregal de San Angel. This project was a subdivision of more than 1,200 lots covering about a square mile. It’s location was free from any historical events, and the land was just being developed due to the availability of roads and automobiles. This neighborhood also happens to be where I lived. 

Jardines del Pedregal Master Plan

I always wondered why was my neighborhood so different from the rest of the city, and why was it seen as a one-of-a-kind area. It is hard to asses the importance of the place when every building is private, so I hit the books to learn more about what lies behind the doors. Turns out there is a lot of history and symbolism behind it. 

Barragan House in El Pedregal

Artigas House in El Pedregal

Whereas the Case Study Program’s goal was to create an effective and modular residential typology, the Jardines del Pedregal complex tried to introduce modernist ideas to the city. The clear contrast of approaches between the two main architects of the project, Luis Barragan and Francisco Artigas, showcased the complex and paradoxical ideals of modernism in Mexico. Barragan’s designs were warm and serene, a more nature-focused approach. While Artigas’ houses were cold and formulaic, a more industrial and rigid approach. This dichotomy has been present in Mexican architecture ever since.