The spaces where artists create their work reveal a great deal about their creative journey—their techniques, themes, and inspirations. These places hold memories, intimacy, and emotional connections. For some artists, the studio is a secluded space, free from distractions. For others, it is a place for openness and freedom. Often, the studio becomes the home—or the home becomes the studio—blending function, desire, and necessity. Positioned at the crossroads of living and creating, leisure and work, these spaces fascinate art lovers. Many are later recreated in galleries or transformed into museums. Regardless of the artist’s fame, these spaces offer a unique look into the creative process, the artwork, and the artist's identity.
The Pritzker Prize is the most important award in the field of architecture, awarded to a living architect whose built work "has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity through the art of architecture." The Prize rewards individuals, not entire offices, as took place in 2000 (when the jury selected Rem Koolhaas instead of his firm OMA) or in 2016 (with Alejandro Aravena selected instead of Elemental); however, the prize can also be awarded to multiple individuals working together, as took place in 2001 (Herzog & de Meuron), 2010 (Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA), and 2017 (Rafael Aranda, Carme Pigem, and Ramon Vilalta of RCR Arquitectes).
In October 2025, the Fernando Romero Foundation will officially open the doors of La Cuadra San Cristóbal, one of the late projects of Mexican architect and Pritzker Prize winnerLuis Barragán. The goal is to transform the architectural complex into a cultural campus open to the public, with a curatorial program focused on exploring the dynamic interaction between architecture and art.
The project, known as Cuadra San Cristóbal, was built between 1966 and 1968 and includes a house, a stables building, and auxiliary facilities such as the Fuente de los Amantes (Fountain of the Lovers). The complex showcases characteristic elements of Barragán's Latin American modernism, including his use of color and the integration of shadows, textures, and sounds into the experience of space.
Much of the production of modern architecture on the American continent was based on the model of European architects who, with their works, projected the fundamental premises and ideas for modern living. These pillars of architecture were transferred and consequently adapted to the American territory, introducing, at the same time, their own characteristics according to the territorial, socio-cultural and economic context.
We understand that good architecture is that which serves as a model for solving problems inherent to the discipline of architecture in general. This is why certain references that we consider today as "classics" are examples of good architectural practices that have been appropriated by other architects, taking the pertinent and necessary elements to achieve a result in accordance with the particular context.
Mexico City is renowned for its abundant museums, heritage sites, and cultural richness. In fact, the capital has over 173 museums, big and small spread out through its 16 alcaldías or burroughs. The presence of these cultural spaces injects and intensifies the artistic appeal and aspect of the vibrant city. With many pioneering Mexican architects having intertwined modern art and architecture, this gave rise to iconic museums and classics of Mexican modernist architecture.
When drawing, lines are fundamental elements of composition. They delineate space, outline structures, and define boundaries. When it comes to maps and borders, the line acquires a particular meaning, as this "simple" graphic expression marks a powerful division between regions, setting the beginning or the end of a territory. This line has a profound meaning at the limit between Mexico and the United States, where it constantly blurs and questions the border. In these places, multiculturalism is a daily occurrence, with a continuous negotiation of boundaries present in all aspects of life. The dynamic of these borders involves design and the generation of a complex network of interactions and collaborations.
Rather than being divided into Tijuanenses on one side and San Diegans on the other, this particular region stands out as a community whose essence harmonizes with a deep legacy of cross-border collaboration, rather than being seen as cities separated by a line. As the first binational designation in the history of the World Design Capital (WDC) program, the Tijuana-San Diego region shares a common interest in addressing urban, social, and economic issues through design. Thus, via conferences, policy summits, and workshops, the region seeks to enhance the catalyzation of ideas through its designation.
https://www.archdaily.com/1017806/from-borderlines-to-blurred-boundaries-san-diego-tijuana-as-the-world-design-capital-2024Enrique Tovar
Architecture Classics showcased on ArchDaily serve as essential archives of architectural marvels, offering a window into the past. These classics showcase our collective design wisdom and innovation globally, enriching our design knowledge. In fact, through the acknowledgment and appreciation of different styles, functions, and narratives embedded within these structures, our view of architecture and its impact worldwide can become more comprehensive.
The great architect Luis Barragán, at 80 years of age, and after almost 10 years of inactivity, carried out his last work on a plot of land measuring 10x36 meters, between party walls in Mexico City. A work that reflects the influence of Mexican culture and painters Diego Rivera and Frida Kalho, where the most interesting thing, according to Barragán, was the challenge of the enormous jacaranda tree that had to be maintained, and the pool requested by the owner as part of the program.
The small pink house, which closes towards the street, reinforcing its interiority, is ordered on the longitudinal axis of the plot. Towards the back, the house is divided into two; the front volume, which contains the services and bedrooms, and the back, where the living room, dining room, and pool are located. These two volumes are joined by a corridor, forming a patio that surrounds the Jacaranda tree.
Built in 1948, this Mexican modern house, designed by Luis Barragán, is recognized for its international significance. The house-studio, inhabited by the architect himself until 1988, incorporates principles of the vernacular architecture of the region in its design, including the use of striking colors. Barragán has been one of the most influential Mexican architects, and his house is one of the most visited places in Mexico City.
Cuadra San Cristóbal, Los Clubes, Atizapán de Zaragoza, State of Mexico, 1966-1968. Perspective sketch of the main courtyard by Luis Barragán. Image via Barragan Foundation
Two years ago, as part of an initiative by the Barragan Foundation, the launch of the institution's renewed website was announced via its Instagram account. This represented an effort to compile all the information that exists so far from the Barragán Archive that enriches the study of his career, opening up the panorama to understand his trajectory and evolution from a clear chronology, experiments, and collaborations, as well as unrealized or demolished projects. The website compiles these five decades of career, presenting a list of 170 works inside and outside the country that is updated as more material is researched and collected.
March 9 marks the birthday of one of the most important Mexican architects worldwide. A pioneer of the Modern Movement in Mexico whose work has transcended geographical limits to be studied by different generations of architects who have rewritten his teaching to make it their own. Every year, this date represents the perfect excuse to rethink Barragan's legacy to architecture not only in Mexico but also in the world, and different projects have been carried out with this intention, awakening the interest of new generations. However, until a few years ago, the record of the architect's work was not very accessible since more than 50% of the projects he built remained anonymous due to the lack of a proper archive of his work.
Luis Barragán’s legacy lies in the way he uses light and color. Tadao Ando's sensitive approach to natural light established his own architectural language. James Turrell's dramatic interior transformations explore a unique perception of visual experiences where "light is not a tool to enable vision but rather something to look at itself". Olafur Eliasson's immersive installations play with the psychology of viewers using just light, water, and air. These architects and designers, among others, have reimagined how light is perceived, inspiring generations of architects to follow suit with the way they understand and employ light.
In 1984, the Menil Museum in Houston, Texas, commissioned the Mexican architect Luis Barragan to build a 3,000-square feet guest house to be located across the street from the famous Rothko Chapel. The architect came back with a design for a dazzling purple, pink, and orange 8,000-square feet mansion that looked to be more at home in Mexico City than a Houston residential suburban lot. So, due to the ensuing conflict between client and architect, the house would never get built, only displayed as an exhibition within the Menil’s galleries.
Library of Muyinga. Image Courtesy of BC Architects
In his 1983 now-classic essay Towards a Critical Regionalism, Six Points of an Architecture of Resistance, Kenneth Frampton discussed an alternative approach to architecture, one defined by climate, topography and tectonics, as a form of resistance to the placeness of Modern Architecture and the gratuitous ornamentation of Postmodernism. An architectural attitude, Critical Regionalism proposed an architecture that would embrace global influences while firmly rooted in its context. The following explores the value and contribution of Frampton’s ideas for contemporary architecture.
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Los Clubes - Cuadra San Cristóbal and Fuente de los Amantes / Luis Barragán. Photo: pov_steve on VisualHunt
How many LGBTQIA+ architects do you know? Surely you went to school with someone but probably never heard a professor mention one of them. Bringing up these names is key to understanding the fundamental role this population plays in the field of architectural theory and practice. This reveals their experiences more clearly, how they incorporate their identities into design and debates about architecture and urban planning. This is key for any person who identifies as LGBTQIA+ to feel comfortable expressing their individuality and their abilities in the profession.
Broadacre City by Frank Lloyd Wright. Image Courtesy of Juan Miró
Juan Miró, co-founder of Miró Rivera Architects reflects in an opinion piece on the value of American cities. Stating that "when we idealize cities like Copenhagen, we risk losing focus of the fundamental historical differences between the urban trajectories of European and American cities", the architect and educator draws a timeline of events and urban transformations, in order to explain why it would be more relevant to look on the inside when planning U.S cities, rather than taking examples from the outside.
Palimpsest Barragan poses a once in a lifetime opportunity to engage eye to eye with an architectural masterpiece of 20th century modernism by the Mexican architect Luis Barragan. As a hidden and still unknown architectural jewel set amidst a paradisiac jungle on the Pacific coast, the ruins of the never completed building have sunk into oblivion, not unlike the ancient Mexican pyramids, and are currently in progressive decay. The workshop will not only ‘unearth’ the project and at last put it on the map of architectural discourse, but it might even have a larger impact by kickstarting a debate around the preservation of its ruins from disintegration.
