Mexican Contemporary

by Herbert Ypma

From the monolithic architecture of the Mayans, Toltecs, and Aztecs to the baroque, tile-clad cathedrals and churches of the "Catholic Conquistadors, " Mexico is a sensual, exotic, and colorful mix of cultural influences. This book showcases Mexican designers and architects, including Jose de Yturbe, Javier Sordo Madeleno, Marco Aldaco, and others whose modern creations define the country's architecture and design. 150+ color photos.

Genres: Design

Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

Reviews

[John Newton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a book I would typically read, but I was looking for a concise overview of the design elements of Mexican houses, both traditional and contemporary. Ypma does a pretty interesting job of it, all in all—tracing the roots of Mexican architecture's focuses on color, texture, and scale to colonial haciendas and pre-Columbian civilizations. He then runs through the embrace of a self-consciously Mexican style (over a late 19th- and early 20th-century fascination with all things French) and then spends a fair amount of time on Barragán, his famous use of color, and his architecture of meditative, light-filled spaces. The remainder of the book focuses on several different houses chosen to illustrate different points—why the palapa style is more common in western Mexico than the center of the country, how colonial elements have been re-embraced, a house that brings the common tropes of Mexican design to a small urban lot.

I don't think even Ypma would claim this book is anything more than a surface look at contemporary Mexican style. Barragán gets many pages, Legorreta a few, but everyone else—and there are other Mexican architects—receive at most a passing reference. The focus is not as broad as the title: the book is only concerned with contemporary Mexican design as applied to houses for the wealthy. No schools, offices, or institutions are discussed or represented. And the final sections of some of the "ingredients" of Mexican architecture like, say, tiles, feel like Ypma realized he needed to stretch this book out for just a little longer so he tacked them on. For a quick overview, however, it's pretty good and the photographs evocative.

[Ellen Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photos in this book are gorgeous. The use of light and color in the design is wonderful. Finally, a modern style that has as its main colors pink, yellow, and blue rather than black grey and beige.

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

excellent photos, especially if you are an art student/teacher and want something as an example for the Art elements and principles