Style

Luis Barragán House and Studio

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Luis Barragán was an architect from Guadalajara around 1930, after WWII he designed projects in Mexico City, and he produced many influential works through the 1970s. Primary colors, smooth walls, angular structures and exceptional lighting is how I would describe his style. When he purchased the land for his home and studio, it was on the outskirts of Mexico City, but now it’s central. The modern architecture tucked into a narrow upscale neighborhood south of Chapultepec park looks like some nouveau riche shoe-horned it in, instead of being the original that inspired so many followers.

OK, the photo is across the street from #14, and I couldn’t actually get a ticket to tour the inside. There are only a few tours a week, and they sell out online quickly. Even the bookstore wasn’t open when it was supposed to be. Oh well, technically I arrived at this architect’s home by electric vehicle, the Metro, which was cheap and convenient. If you are a visiting professor of architecture, you can probably arrange a tour of this World Heritage Site through your university. But there were a few disappointed common folk outside. Maybe architecture isn’t meant for the masses?

Hot Springs National Park

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Wilderness exploration is nice, but I really enjoyed spending a couple nights here to rest and look for inspiration. Unfortunately I couldn’t literally recharge, as the nearest supercharger is in Little Rock, and I doubted my hotel would let me run an extension cord out into the parking lot. The entire area is full of hills, forests and lakes, but the downtown area is unique, being both historic and still thriving. There are fancy restaurants, stylish hotels, and, of course, bathhouse row. There seems to have been a few boom & bust cycles that created a few winners, some losers and some interesting adaptations. The longest running, original and most traditional bathhouse is Buckstaff. I’m up early, but there was already a line outside when I walked past, as they don’t take reservations. Maybe I’ll come back someday for a spa treatment. For now, it’s enough to just wander around, put my hands in the hot water public fountains, peer in the shop windows, admire the Art Deco and other architecture and hike up the hill into the trees.