Luis Barragán’s architecture has gained wide renown due in no small part to the circulation of a limited number of carefully selected photographs. These photographs, realized by Armando Salas Portugal in close collaboration with the architect, have created a particular perception of Barragán’s work. They attach a distinctive aura to Barragán’s spaces and contributed to their iconic status by emphasizing characteristics such as light, colour and form. One could even postulate that Barragán designed spaces with the eyes of his photographer in mind.

The workshop “Appropriate Barragán” led by photographer Bas Princen in summer 2022 brought together design students from HEAD – Genève and CENTRO Mexico City in a joint project to experience, analyse and interpret major architectural works by Luis Barragán through the medium of photography. They captured some unexpected views of two well-known buildings, the Barragán House and the Prieto López House (also known as Casa Pedregal), producing distinctive visual impressions of intimacy, space, lighting, architectural details, and traces of habitation

TEAM

Vitra Design Museum:
Martin Josephy, Curator Barragán Archive
Susanne Graner, Head of Collection & Archive
Stefani Fricker, Team Leader Exhibition Design & Development
Thorsten Romanus, Exhibition Design

HEAD – Genève:
Dr Javier F. Contreras, Dean of the Department of Interior Architecture
Bas Princen, Workshop Leader
Damien Greder, Teaching Assistant
Special thanks to Jean-Pierre Greff, Director HEAD – Genève 2007–2022

CENTRO Mexico City:
Dr Miquel Adrià, Director of the School of Architecture
Veronica Garcia Santamarina Vite, Coordinator

STUDENTS:
HEAD – Genève Students: Elsa Audouin, Ankita Das, Robin Delerce, Sonya Isupova, Thibault Krauer, Vilma Hubalek, Marileni Vourtsi
CENTRO Mexico City Students: Ana Suárez, Emiliano Reynoso, Pedro Felix, Yamilet Parra, Ma. Fernanda Chávez, Álvaro Morillo, Camila Segura, Vania Olivares, Ximena Castro, Ximena Urbina

Installation view of the presentation at the Barragán Gallery
© Vitra Design Museum, photo: Bettina Matthiessen
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn 2023