Luis Barragán House and Studio

The Luis Barragán House and Studio, built in 1947-1948, is located in a working-class suburb of Mexico City. This World Heritage Site represents an outstanding example of the architect’s creative work in the post-Second World War period.

It is owned by the Fundación de Arquitectura Tapatía and the Government of the State of Jalisco. It is now a museum exhibiting Barragán's work and is also used by visiting architects.

It retains the original furniture and Barragán's personal objects. These include a mostly Mexican art collection spanning the 16th to 20th century, with works by Picasso, Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, Jesús Reyes Ferreira and Miguel Covarrubias.

Luis Barragán created a regional adaptation of the International Modern Movement in architectural design. The concrete building, totaling 1,161 sq m (12,500 sq ft), consists of a ground floor and two upper stories, as well as a small private garden.

The architect’s integration of modern design with traditional Mexican vernacular elements has been greatly influential, especially in the contemporary design of gardens. For example, his use of water and fountains reflects Mediterranean and Islamic traditions, in particular Moroccan.

This autobiographical background did not prevent this artist's manifesto from going well beyond its time and its cultural milieu and becoming a distinguished reference in 20th-century fine art and architecture.

Of particular note is the profound dialogue between light and constructed space and the way in which color is substantial to form and materials.

The Luis Barragán House and Studio appeals to all the senses and re-evaluates the ways in which architecture can be perceived and enjoyed by its inhabitants.

Many of its materials were found in traditional architecture and, distant as they are from industrial production, they reveal the aging of the house with a patina which the architect acknowledged as the poetic value of his architecture.