Barragán Residence

Barragán Residence in Tacubaya, Mexico City, Mexico by Luis Barragán, 1947

The following text and images are taken from René Burri's photographic essay on Mexican architect Luis Barragán, luis barragán, published by Phaidon Press. The words are Barragan's and the images are his residence in Tacubaya, Mexico City, completed in 1947.

A perfect garden - no matter what its size - should enclose: nothing less than the entire universe.

Beauty - the invincible difficulty that the philosophers have in defining the meaning of this word is unequivocal proof of its ineffable mystery.

How can one forget joy? I believe that a work of art reaches perfection when it conveys silent joy and serenity.

A garden must combine the poetic and the mysterious with a feeling of serenity and joy. There is no fuller expression of vulgarity than a vulgar garden.