JUAN PALOMAR

Luis Barragan is an icon of contemporary architecture-a genius of color, light, walls, the garden, the tower, the rooftop, he has influenced an entire generation of current architects, not least of them his one-time collaborator Ricardo Legorreta. Admirers of his work note its serenity, its harmony. In 1979, when Barragan was presented the Pritzker Prize, his work was referred to as "a sublime act of the poetic imagination." It is this aspect of Barragan's work that is presented in The Life and Work of Luis Barragan, a biographical portrait that reveals Barragan as a master of what he himself called "emotional architecture." Barragan's impressions and influences are recorded here, from his early years in Gudalajara to his work in Mexico City, and his highly inspiring travels in the Alhambra, the villages of Greece, and northern Africa. His rejection of the concepts of Le Corbusier and the International Style, and his embrace of the ideas of the French intellectual, painter, and landscape architect Ferdinand Bac provided valuable framework for understanding both the theory and form of Barragan's oeuvre. Brilliant color photographs record Barragan's vibrant work as it has never been seen before, including generous interior shots of such varied projects as Casa Cristo in Guadalajara, and Casas Galvez, Egerstrom, and Meyer, all from his Mexico City years. Barragan was perhaps first and foremost a landscape architect, and this book spotlights his gardens, and his vanguard, landscape-based approach to architecture itself-centered on the close relationship between landscape, color, and architecture in Mexico and the other lands that inspired him. Text and photographs combine in TheLife and Work of Luis Barragan for a personal and evocative portrayal of the Mexican master that will fascinate everyone familiar with his legacy, and intrigue those who are only just discovering the power and influence of his work.

Luis Barragán, premio Pritzker de arquitectura, ha sido reconocido universalmente como uno de los grandes arquitectos del siglo XX. Este libro presenta un extenso recorrido por su obra más destacada, ilustrado con gran detalle, tanto desde el punto de vista arquitectonico como decorativo.A diferencia de otras publicaciones, se recoge y difunde con profundidad el primer periodo de la obra del arquitecto en su Guadalajara natal.El texto esta estructurado en cuatro partes claramente diferenciadas.La primera, Barragan cabalga rumbo a la eternidad, situa la arquitectura de Barragan en su contexto historico, geografico y social, analizando su obra de una manera critica e imparcial.En la segunda parte, Los años de Guadalajara se describe la epoca en que nacio Luis Barragan y el transcurso de su infancia en la hacienda familiar de Corrales, Jalisco, asi como sus años en la ciudad de Guadalajara. Este escrito recoge algunas de las obras mas reconocidas en Jalisco, como son la casa Cristo, la casa Gonzalez Luna y los arreglos en la casa y jardin de Alfredo Vazquez, en Chapala.A continuacion, en Luis Barragan en la ciudad de Mexico, se relata la etapa de Barragan en la ciudad de Mexico donde se traslada en 1936 y en la que se establecera hasta su muerte. De este periodo son las obras que el han dado reconocimiento mundial: casa Ortega, casa-estudio Luis Barragan, Capilla para las Capuchinas en Tlalpan, casa Galvez, Cuadra de San Cristobal y casa Egerstrom, Fraccionamiento del Pedregal, casa Gilardi y casa Barbara Meyer entre otras. Finalmente, en La casa de Tacubaya, se describe la obra mas importante de su legado: su residencia y estudio, construido en 1947.