Garden 17. The intervention of a poem in green
The formula is simple, two architects from different eras who interpret the same space. The result, on the other hand, is unexpected, mysterious, seductive. In this blog post we will take a walk through the history of this space by the hand of its creators, who, despite the temporal distance, invite us to live the constant amazement by the green expression of architecture.
"I think, why isn't there a garden on every roof of every house and every building in this city, where it always rains, but it also always surprises the good weather? Where trees and bushes grow in every crack, in every makeshift pot in an old can, or in every stool crack left behind? Apparently it's an architectural problem."
These words of Mario Ballestero, drawn from an interview he gave to Alberto Kalach in 2018, invite us to reflect on the constant dialogue between architecture and its surroundings. In particular we are transported to Garden 17, a space that is part of the Barragán house, but independently, like any garden: declaration of freedom and life.
Perhaps this is why, when adopting a new use, it was proposed as a public space for the reflection and dissemination of architecture and landscaping, with a different program of activities than the house. It was originally conceived as a workplace for the architect, a kind of office surrounded by greenery. However, the project remained unfinished and gave rise to other uses. He served the house providing wine cellars, parking drawers, as well as internal activities of the museum such as talks, workshops, assemblies, etc. For 20 years it has received US universities to offer architectural workshops and has also hosted important exhibitions such as the Martirene Alcántara, Ricardo Regazoni and design exhibitions within the framework of Design Week.
It tells the story that in 2016 it was decided, from a generous contribution of the architect Alberto Kalach, member of the Barragán Foundation, to carry out a comprehensive restoration of the garden. The works lasted two years, and finally in 2018 it opened as an open and free space, a place of architecture and landscaping that at the same time functioned as a meeting place with the community.
Although, luis Barragán's work was always related to landscape architecture, and in particular to gardens whose mystery was an integral part of "Emotional Architecture", a term with which he identified his work, Kalach's intervention, was sensitive and timely, shows the domain of this shared language. And it is that the architect, who once commented that the gardens also slept, and that is why in the evenings they should not be illuminated with artificial light to respect that "their days were days and their nights, nights", has made some of the most original and beautiful gardens of the Ciu Mexico. For example, the Vasconcelos Library, the one on the roof of Tower 41, the Cárcamo de Chapultepec, or Casa Wabi in Santa María la Ribera. Like its almost naked architecture, the gardens bring the naturalness lost by artifice or perhaps nostalgia for the origins: the return to the virgin land.
This is reflected in the intervention of Garden 17, where, as a gesture of expulsion or rethinking of modernity, the garage was transformed into two open classrooms, an idea that relates to Barragán's thinking, of providing spaces where it could be outside, but feeling contained.
Kalach resumed this point when space intervened. In addition to the classrooms, he retained the indigo blue tone of the walls, and as for the vegetation, he tried to maintain the essence of the site by making few changes, so there is talk of an almost archaeological work because, before considering any interpretation, he tried to imagine the idea behind the vestiges. For example, there was a concrete drawer that was empty that suggested serving as an experimental element containing water. It even seemed that this container was perhaps the antemete of many of the mirrors and fountains that inhabit Barragán's works, such as the fountain of the convent of the Capuchin nuns in Tlalpan. With these references in mind, it was decided to return the water to that kind of pool, and with it, he returned the reflect from the sky and heard again the silent voice of Barragán in his garden.
By laureate Martínez Figueroa
Visit virtually Garden 17 here