Mexican Architecture: The Latest Architecture and News

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The architectural history of Mexico bears with it a wealth of symbolism that gives insight into the different time periods that have played host to contemporary cultural movements throughout the country's history. 

Today, it's common to hear well-known architects calling for, not the creation of new spaces, but for the restoration of already existing ones. This stance insists that it is one's duty as an architect to rescue a site's memory by bringing it into the here and now.

As philosopher Jean Paul-Sartre put it, "what is important is not what happens to us, but what we do with what happens to us." In keeping with Sartre's phrase, we have compiled a list of 6 restoration projects that aim to rescue sites and show the interconnectedness of different time periods in Mexican history.

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Traditional Mexican housing is being transformed by a number of factors, namely the urbanization of rural areas, the disruption of public information, the loss of the environmental consciousness, and housing policies that downplay the importance of traditional means of construction in favor of more industrial methods -- the likes of which generate false aspirations that redefine the concept of a dignified living space.

This is driving the loss of both tangible and intangible national heritage, namely the architectural values developed by the native peoples of the country over the centuries. In other words, it's not only the architectural heritage at risk of disappearing but also the centuries of knowledge built from everyday living spaces and their relationship with the territory that they inhabit.   

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The brise soleil is an architectural element that has been used since ancient times to create subtle barriers between the interior and the exterior. Its use and design have been diversified over the years through the research and technology with which these elements are applied, creating the ability to build a small window to a complete facade and pavilion that seem to float.

We know that Mexico is a country with one of the most diverse climates, thus the use of a brise soleil is positioned stronger within the guild. Also, rural areas have long adapted the feature in Mexico, demonstrating its beauty and usefulness. Read on for our collection of 21 brise soleil features in Mexican projects to inspire you with its diverse applications.

After Frida Escobedo, Yana Peel and Hans Ulrich Obrist officially presented the 2018 Serpentine Pavilion on Monday, June 11 at Kensington Gardens in London, we had the opportunity to interview Mexican architect Frida Escobedo exclusively for ArchDaily. Escobedo shared with us with us the importance that designing pavilions has had in her career, the relevance of working on public spaces, and offered her thoughts on the perception of the Mexican context outside of Mexico. She also spoke further about the details of the pavilion itself and revealed where she would like the pavilion to be moved after completing its 4-month stay at Kensington Gardens.

The 2018 Serpentine Pavilion opens to the public on June 15th and will remain in place until October 7th, 2018.

Earlier this year, the jury of the Pritzker Prize chose the Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi, also known as B.V. Doshi, or Doshi, as the winner of the 2018 Pritzker Prize. In recent weeks a lot of information has come to light about the winning architect's practice who, as you probably already know, was an apprentice and collaborator of Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn. Being the first Indian architect to receive Architecture's most prestigious award, Doshi has had an active career of more than 70 years, with a poetic architectural style that is based on oriental cultural influences, creating a production that "covers all socioeconomic classes, in a wide spectrum of typologies, since the 1950s," according to the jury's record.

But, can you imagine what it's like to work with Doshi in his firm? We talked with four alumni from the School of Architecture, Art and Design from Tecnológico de Monterrey, who some years ago had the opportunity to travel to India to work directly with Doshi through a professional internship program promoted by the same university. Arturo Acosta, Jeimi Cuendulain, Airam Moreno and Giovanni Llamas tell us about their experience working in the firm, as well as anecdotes that marked them both professionally and personally that helped them see and experience architecture beyond the obvious. Here are their testimonies below:

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The Expo Guadalajara Technical Committee invited five different Mexican architecture studios to participate in the design competition for the conceptual proposal for the extension of this trade fair venue in the capital of Jalisco state. Following a lengthy competition period, Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos has been selected as the winner with a conceptual project that takes as its main objective: the creation of a multifunctional space with an important urban interaction.

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Proyectos 9, a Monterrey real estate developer, announced Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos as the winners of the international architectural design competition for the construction of Constitución 999, a new mixed-use complex to be erected in the downtown area of Monterrey.

The history of Mexican photography has contributed to highlighting Mexico's presence in the world. Photographers like Elsa Medina, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Graciela Iturbide, Maya Goded, and Juan Rulfo have masterfully portrayed the life of the buildings, houses and the streets of a rapidly built, nineteenth-century Mexico. 

As a consequence, the contemporary scene of Mexican photography has become a fundamental tool for architecture and has contributed to a better visual understanding of the works that are erected every day.

Photography and architecture are two disciplines that go hand in hand and whose relationship has been reinforced thanks to the digital tools that we currently have. For that reason, we have compiled the work of contemporary Mexican photographers who record our walk through the world we live in and contribute to constructing the image of contemporary Mexico. 

In 2018, the MEXTRÓPOLI Festival of Architecture and City presents its fifth edition, consolidating itself as a key event in the cultural agenda of Mexico City and as an important architectural event on a global scale. With its high curatorial quality MEXTRÓPOLI promotes the voices of architects, artists, mayors, and humanists who are globally recognized in their respective disciplines while offering affordable prices to students and anyone interested in the present and future directions of cities. MEXTRÓPOLI is a platform that allows you to experience the city, as well as to reflect on its political, civilian and aesthetic aspects.

Today is Mexico’s Independence Day and in celebration of this national holiday we wanted to recognize the great tradition of modern and contemporary architecture in the country. We asked the editors of all our sites – ArchDaily, Plataforma Arquitectura, ArchDaily Mexico and ArchDaily Brasil - to select their favorite architecture projects in Mexico. From Barragan to Rojkind, check out our round-up below, originally published on our sister-site ArchDaily Mexico.

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