House and Leisure – July 2019

JUN JUL 105

LEISURE / TRAVEL

Discover Mexico City by creating an itinerary that takes

you to some of its most iconic architectural sites

BUILDING

PLANS

TEXT TRACY LYNN CHEMALY PHOTOGRAPHS TRACY LYNN CHEMALY, ISTOCK, ALAMY

Visits to Mexico City are usually planned around

taco stands, mezcal bars and market visits. However,

must-do lists filled with building names can

provide just as much excitement as they lead to

rock-star architects, revolutionary painters and

intriguing historical tales. We recommend you

insert these architectural destinations into Google

Maps the next time you land in Mexico’s capital city.

DISCOVER LUIS BARRAGÁN’S WORK

Mexico’s late Pritzker Prize-winning architect

is revered the world over for his clean-lined,

minimal Modernism and ability to relate outdoor

spaces to interior architecture. Book the guided

tour of Luis Barragán’s house and studio (a UNESCO

World Heritage Site) and you’ll come face to face

with his innovative use of natural and artificial

light as well as his ability to play with bold colour.

If you prefer free-styling, grab one of the many

app-accessed bicycles in the city and ride through

the leafy Condesa suburb in search of some of

Barragán’s smaller residential projects. Find their

addresses on the barragan-foundation.org website.

BE A BOOKWORM

Entering Biblioteca Vasconcelos feels like stepping

into the lower level of an immense cruise ship and

seeing it piled high with books. This monumental

public library in downtown Mexico City will

impress even those who don’t care much for reading.

Cavernous central areas make the books towering

on open bookshelves appear to float overhead,

with the floor-to-ceiling windows enhancing the

jaw-dropping effect.

And although the Central Library of the National

Autonomous University of Mexico in Coyoacán is

less impressive from within, it’s also worthy of an

hour’s contemplation from the outside. Completely

covered in mosaic art by Mexican architect and

artist Juan O’Gorman, its facade tells the story

of his country’s cultural past through images.

DELVE INTO HISTORY

The city’s bustling historic centre is where you’ll get

a true sense of Mexico’s capital being home to over

20 million people. Find calm refuge inside Templo

Mayor, where archaeological remains of a pre-

Hispanic Aztec temple continue to be excavated.

Towering over this is the Metropolitan Cathedral,

which was built by the Spanish conquistadors who

destroyed the Aztec temple to build their church.

Its baroque facade, impressive bell towers and

gold-splashed altars will leave you gawking.

Afterwards, wander down pedestrianised Madero

Street to Palacio de Bellas Artes, a cultural centre

that presents itself as an eclectic mix of Neoclassical

and Art Nouveau exteriors and Art Deco interiors.

Here you’ll find gigantic paintings by Mexico’s

most famous muralists: Diego Rivera, David

Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco.