introspective architecture
Introduction
Francisco Artigas (Mexico City, 1916 – March 2, 1999) was a Mexican architect, active mainly between the 1950s and 1970s. He is recognized for his extensive production of more than 50 modern single-family homes in the Jardines del Pedregal de San Ángel subdivision, in Mexico City, as well as for his role in the institutional architecture of the Mexican State during the development period stabilizer.[1].
Although his name has remained in the background compared to figures such as Luis Barragán, Juan O'Gorman or Oscar Niemeyer, recent studies and publications place him as one of the most prolific architects of Pedregal and as a particular interpreter of functionalism and international modernism adapted to the Mexican context.[2].
Biography
Francisco Artigas was born in 1916 in Mexico City, into a traditional family; His father was General Francisco B. Artigas. During his youth, due to family circumstances, he spent part of his training in Cotija, Michoacán, where he came into direct contact with rural vernacular architecture, an experience that later influenced certain stages of his work.[3].
He began engineering studies at the National School of Engineering of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, but abandoned his degree before completing it. His training as an architect was largely self-taught, supported by reading, travel and the careful study of specialized magazines. Through them he learned about modern American and Brazilian architecture, with special admiration for Frank Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, Rudolf Schindler, Albert Frey and Oscar Niemeyer.[4].
At the end of the 1940s he began to practice professionally, first in collaboration with Santiago Greenham and later with Fernando Luna. From the beginning of the fifties he settled permanently in Mexico City, where he developed most of his work.[1].
Context and relationship with Pedregal
The Jardines del Pedregal de San Ángel subdivision, promoted and urbanized by Luis Barragán starting in the late 1940s, constituted Artigas' main field of experimentation. While Barragán and Max Cetto defined the first stages of development, Artigas became one of the most active architects of the complex.[2].