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.
The U.S.-Mexico border is a region of vast historical, cultural, and economic significance, where cities of fundamental importance to North America have emerged. Tijuana—located in northeastern Mexico—, is one of these cities. Since its earliest beginnings in the 18th century, it has experienced exponential urban growth, closely linked to its northern neighbor, San Diego. Understanding Tijuana in its entirety is only possible by mentioning this connection. For this reason, along with San Diego, it was selected as the World Design Capital 2024, celebrating the interaction and cultural exchange between the two cities.
Historically, the city has been a melting pot of nuances reflected in its urban landscape. Examples such as the Tijuana Cultural Center, designed by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and Manuel Rosen, show the city's search for a modern style. In parallel, the OTAY Cross Border Xpress Building illustrates the relationship between countries in a complex whose architectural program spans both sides of the border. Additionally, contemporary projects contribute to developing a new stage in the city's life by creating public spaces.
Urban Sketchers is an international non-profit organization dedicated to fostering a global community of artists who practice on-site drawings to enhance the artistic, narrative, and educational value of drawing. Connecting people from all over the world, the organization brings people in touch with their environment to illustrate drawings of their lived experiences.
Though the idea of a vacation in Mexico usually brings to mind images of margaritas on white-sand beaches, it seems the country is slowly but surely gaining recognition in other aspects as well. Among the most populated urban cities in Latin America and the world – not to mention The New York Times' number one "Place to Go in 2016" – Mexico City offers a particular cultural diversity evident both in its traditions and in its architecture. Considering it's the main tourist, educational, cultural, economic and political center of Mexico, it makes sense that it's the perfect scenario for the social encounters of its multicultural inhabitants and tourists.
The sites of architectural interest alone are worth the visit, with prehispanic, classic, modern and contemporary examples ranging from Juan O'Gorman and Luis Barragán to Felix Candela and David Chipperfield. Add to that the fact that its gastronomic scene has garnered much praise and attention in recent years, and you've got a perfect combo. Below is a carefully curated list of 30 sites that every architect should know and visit.
Designed by architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and Manuel Rosen Morrison, the buildings that make up the Tijuana Cultural Center constructed at the end of the 20th century, are now an urban landmark with a singularity so evident that it could only be understood in a city as peculiar as the one that houses it. We present to you on this occasion an approach to architecture with modern, nationalist, and iconic touches that at some point were part of the national emblem within the horizons of a Mexico like that of 1982.
In October 1982 in the city of Tijuana, Baja California, the facilities of what we now know as the Tijuana Cultural Center (Cecut) were inaugurated. That moment could probably evoke scenes inspired by movies like 'The Belly of an Architect', where examples of 18th-century Parisian architecture by Étienne-Louis Boullée are revisited in modern times. The shapes, scale, and arrangement of the volumes of the complex recall in the construction of the Cecut, how modern anti-historicism opened the possibility for a construction like this one, almost reaching the 21st century.
Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, one of the most important Mexican architects of the 20th century, died yesterday on his 94th birthday in Mexico City. Ramírez headed the construction of many of Mexico's modernist landmarks including several museums, the nation's largest sports stadium and a shrine that attracts the most pilgrimages in the country.
Read more on Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and his architectural legacy after the break.
