The text for this post is: Abstract Neo-Plasticity and Its Architectural Manifestation in the Luis Barragan House/Studio of 1947, The Mathematical Intelligencer, January 2009, Volume 31, Issue 1, pp 63-72,
The main focus for this text is the Barragan House, where Luis Barragan lived and worked. It also influenced some of his later architecture. His house is situated in Mexico City, Mexico, next to another of his designs. He has designed this as international style with the use of lots of colour; Yellow, red, pink, purple, earthy brown as well as greys and white.
There is also a geometric connection with the building; this is linked to the paintings by Josef Albers, which are made up of squares of varying sizes which are all in different shades of the same colour. These paintings are based on a grid and are made from whole number ratios. The use of this grid pattern has been seen across the whole of Barragan's design; in the plans and in the elevations this grid can be seen. The windows of the elevation seem to have no pattern, however, when the grid system is applied this can be seen to be untrue.
The mathematical grid pattern in the design reminded me of the Golden Ratio, which is most famously used in the Parthenon. However, this is Barragan/ Albers' version and is based more on squares than rectangles. I think that working with a ratio or grid to design a building would be very time consuming and, therefore, I think that most of the ratio in the Barragan house may be coincidental.
The 'abstract neo-plasticity' is a concept which I do not understand; I don't know what the phrase actually means and this reading has only confused me on it. I feel that it may be more than just an architectural concept ad related to the painting of shaded squares whch hung in Barragan's house.
The main focus for this text is the Barragan House, where Luis Barragan lived and worked. It also influenced some of his later architecture. His house is situated in Mexico City, Mexico, next to another of his designs. He has designed this as international style with the use of lots of colour; Yellow, red, pink, purple, earthy brown as well as greys and white.
There is also a geometric connection with the building; this is linked to the paintings by Josef Albers, which are made up of squares of varying sizes which are all in different shades of the same colour. These paintings are based on a grid and are made from whole number ratios. The use of this grid pattern has been seen across the whole of Barragan's design; in the plans and in the elevations this grid can be seen. The windows of the elevation seem to have no pattern, however, when the grid system is applied this can be seen to be untrue.
The mathematical grid pattern in the design reminded me of the Golden Ratio, which is most famously used in the Parthenon. However, this is Barragan/ Albers' version and is based more on squares than rectangles. I think that working with a ratio or grid to design a building would be very time consuming and, therefore, I think that most of the ratio in the Barragan house may be coincidental.
The 'abstract neo-plasticity' is a concept which I do not understand; I don't know what the phrase actually means and this reading has only confused me on it. I feel that it may be more than just an architectural concept ad related to the painting of shaded squares whch hung in Barragan's house.