MEXICOLOR

Color seems to be a taboo for most of the architects. Color is too emotional and personal. No one would take the risk. We pick black and white or at most fair-face concrete, as it is easy to judge and to be judged. We would rather play safe for it. Colors play an important role in Barragan works. Firstly we have decided to visit 4 projects, Casa Barragan, Casa Ortega, Casa Gilardi and Convento de Tlalpan, but at last we got six! Thanks for our friendly guide who is so kind to take us to the monument project, Torres de Satelite, and urban park project, Las Arboledas. Those visits do provide me a more comprehensive picture of his work. It is no easy task to consolidate the techniques in his works. What he did is actually really subtle. He acts like a sculptor, crafting the work bit by bit based on his sensation; sometimes, he acts like a magician who smartly plays with walls, colors and light in order to extend the possibility of space. Browsing around his house, you will realize that you can never understand by plans and drawings. He is dealing with the disposition as well as elevation of wall. His works have no exterior. He focuses on the interior, to be clear; he works on space by space. Sometimes, he acts like a filmmaker working on scene to scene. He is skillfully dramatizing space through sunlight, color and proximity. If we said Tadao Ando is inspired by Corbusier, I think it is more appropriate to say Barragan. Of course, Ando is still too far away from that.