Abstract Neo-Plasticity and Its Architectural Manifestation in the Luis Barragan House/Studio of 1947, The Mathematical Intelligencer

Reading aligned with lecture:  Regional Modernism in Japan:Kenzo Tange, F Maki, Tado Ando.  14/01/2015

Personal summary of reading pages 63-72:

This article proved interesting considering it was in a mathematical journal. My initial thoughts after reading the first page was that it may go into depth about ratios and mathematical connections of the Luis Barragan House/Studio to its audience rather than descriptive ones, which would have probably chosen to read through architectural/design blogs.

The House/Studio that Barragan designed and lived in is known for its unique characteristic and its unique form and connection to one another. I like how a plain façade privatises the rest of the property; this makes me curious to see the creative interiors, natural lighting and outdoor spaces that have been created. The article then details the houses form and layout; I’m intrigued to know how this is connected to abstract neo plasticity and what exactly that is!

Barragan fuses vernacular architecture of his Mexican landscape with abstract neo-plasticity; this is achieved through horizontal and vertical plans linking together to produce smaller rectangular forms within. This design style becomes clarified through his influences of Groupius, Mies Van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, especially that his style is refined in later exhibits to simple geometric forms.

The journal article then goes into depth about how Barragan appreciated Josef Alber’s series Homage to the square and how they may have influence his simplistic, creative geometric architecture designs. I enjoy maths and its relation to architecture but I felt that went into too much depth and connection; I understand that Barragan was influenced by Bauhaus and De Stij movements. I can see how Barragan was influenced by he concepts of the sqaures and how he used then to configure his spaces. However I am still unsure as to what exactly abstract neo-plasticity is, so I will go and research that from here.

Photo reference: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/albers-study-for-homage-to-the-square-beaming-t02310