The houses of Artigas
Insightful look at mid-century modern design in Mexico
“At their best…his houses were among the finest and most luxuriant of the era. Dramatically yet sensitively sited, seemingly weightless, their exteriors are notable for crisp rectilinearity and elegant minimalism, for daringly long, straight, unbroken fascias above fully glazed walls which bring the buildings back to earth even while pilotis lift them from it.” Author Keith Eggener
Fascinating insights into modernist architecture abound in the offerings of Modernism Week this February. Some of the events on the schedule are particularly important for the local architecture cognoscenti and will reveal more than is generally known through superb scholarship. Even in Palm Springs, there is always something more to learn about architecture: the more unusual or esoteric, the more interesting.
For example, few places boast as much extant mid-century architecture as the desert, but one place, perhaps not thought of as such is Mexico. Yet there exists a treasure-trove of mid-century modern houses at the Gardens of El Pedregal subdivision of Mexico City, developed after World War II by Mexico’s most acclaimed architect, Luis Barragán.
Author Keith Eggener tells an enchanting story of another architect who built more than 50 houses at Pedregal and is its most prolific architect by far, yet is relatively unknown. Eggener is coming to Modernism Week with a lecture on Francisco Artigas replete with gorgeous photographs that should not be missed. And Artigas has an interesting local connection.
Eggener summarizes, “The houses Artigas built were occupied by top professionals, business leaders, powerful political families, film stars, and other native and foreign elites. They were featured in popular Mexican movies of the era and reproduced in newspapers and magazines around the country and beyond. These cool, crystalline pavilions represent the glamour, optimism, and excess of their time and place much as the Beaux-Arts mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, or the modernist villas of Palm Springs, California, embody theirs. Their architect, however, though admired by well-informed mid-century modern enthusiasts, remains essentially unknown to a larger public. He is well worth a look.”
Eggener’s lushly illustrated lecture will certainly be worth a look.
Artigas worked extensively around Mexico. He designed offices, stores, churches, hotels, countless school buildings and single-family houses. Eggener points out that, “Unusually for a Mexican architect of his era, he also worked outside of Mexico. He traveled often to the United States, and between 1952 and 1958 he built a lavish, 7,200-square-foot showplace of glass, steel, and concrete in Apple Valley, California. Designed for Apple Valley’s founder and developer, Newton T. Bass, the Hilltop House—with its 360-degree views, indoor-outdoor swimming pool, push-button sliding walls, mahogany ceilings, and built-in television sets — so expressed the postwar California good life that it appeared in an episode of Perry Mason (‘The Case of the Roving River’). Had it not burned down in 1967, it would have made a fine lair for a Bond villain.”
“Artigas’s best houses are elegant exemplars of the postwar International Style.” And he notes Artigas’ “modernist designs bear an evident debt to Mies and Neutra, and a close familial resemblance to the California Case Study Houses. At their best…his houses were among the finest and most luxuriant of the era. Dramatically yet sensitively sited, seemingly weightless, their exteriors are notable for crisp rectilinearity and elegant minimalism, for daringly long, straight, unbroken fascias above fully glazed walls which bring the buildings back to earth even while pilotis lift them from it.”
“This was a world of flat-roofed, light-filled, open-planned suburban houses, well stocked with modern appliances and Knoll furniture, with small English roadsters and big American sedans parked out front and swimming pools shimmering out back, all of it set gracefully above and between the ancient lava and wild semi-tropical vegetation of the Pedregal. With the spectacular new University of Mexico campus rising right next door, this was the setting for modern Mexican glamour and sophistication circa 1960 — Palm Springs, Beverly Hills, Palo Alto, and Westchester County all rolled into one — the strictly limited architectural realization of President Miguel Alemán’s otherwise unattainable 1946 campaign promise, ‘A Cadillac for Every Mexican.’” The relatively unknown Artigas was its most productive architect and Eggener will be at the Annenberg theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum on February 21st to illustrate exactly why.
This important lecture is part of a spectacular slate of offerings for Modernism Week this year. Among the highlights will be a lecture on the sculptural ceramics of Stan Bitters. His gorgeous tiles grace several modernist masterpieces in Palm Springs. Billy Haines’ extraordinarily glamorous interiors at the Annenberg’s Sunnylands estate will be explored. The wholly unbelievable, but true, story of Edgar and Liliane Kaufmann’s life after building the iconic house in Palm Springs is worthy of a soap opera or streaming mini-series. Who knew?
All of these and many more will be on offer for local experts and curious visitors alike. It is a veritable smorgasbord with something for everyone. And for the first time, Modernism Week is conveniently offering an all-access pass to the entire lecture series. Tickets may be chosen at modernismweek.com. (Amazingly, there are also special hotel packages for the historic Del Marcos Hotel with tickets to sold-out parties and events on the opening weekend available on the website.)