Mexican Architecture

Once seen as purely utilitarian, bare concrete blocks have increasingly become part of an architectural transformation. In regions where warm climates make insulation unnecessary, this material can be left exposed, free of cladding, finishes, or embellishment. In doing so, texture, bond, and form can define the building's character and simplify construction while creating new opportunities for expression and identity. This also creates a platform to explore the concept of material honesty. Beyond its aesthetic value, using a material "as is" can significantly reduce construction costs and minimize maintenance during the building's lifespan.

When designing spaces for viewing, architecture enters into a dialogue with the territory in an effort to understand the landscape and the enjoyment of reality, whether natural or built. Through an invitation to contemplate our surroundings, several architecture professionals in Latin America embark on the challenge of constructing structures that interact with nature, reinterpret certain building typologies, or become part of the learning and teaching of architecture for future generations. The wide variety of landscapes and cultures present in the Latin American context reflects the endless opportunities where architecture holds the potential to foster dialogue between the observer and the observed while drawing from the region’s deep connection with local flora, fauna, and other species.

In March 2025, the actor Adrian Brody rose to the stage to collect his Academy Award for playing the role of László Toth in the acclaimed film, The Brutalist. The film is about a Bauhaus-educated architect who escaped Nazi Germany in the 1930s for the United States. Whilst the story is fictional, it reflects the lives of several émigré architects who left Central Europe in search of better working and intellectual conditions. These included the first three directors of Bauhaus, the renowned German school of design established in 1919. The first and third directors of the school, Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe respectively, ended up in the US where their careers in teaching and building both flourished. Lesser known is the second director, Hannes Meyer, who took a different path from his colleagues.

At a global level, contemporary architecture continues to explore tools and design methodologies to integrate nature into habitable spaces, given its proven benefits and contributions to improving people's quality of life. While there are diverse religious beliefs around the world, religious architecture generally expands beyond its uses and functions to connect with the sacred. Senses, memories, and emotions are transmitted in these spaces through the use of certain materials, spatial organizations, and even sounds and aromas that enhance experiences in atmospheres of spirituality, divinity, and reflection. In Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, and Uruguay, projects for places of worship open to the outdoors reflect an architecture that adapts to different natural environments while maintaining the premise that each religion is tied to a social identity and requires a particular connection with its community and surrounding landscape.

Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural legacy is vast, but among his most enigmatic and atmospheric works are his Mayan Revival houses in Los Angeles, California. Residences such as the Hollyhock House redefine the interplay of light, materiality, constructive innovation, and spatial perception. By using modular concrete blocks in an ornamental and structural way, Wright developed a unique aesthetic deeply rooted in both the past and the future.

The desert is a landscape in constant transformation. Shaped by the wind, its dunes, ridges, and fissures emerge and fade in an ever-shifting expanse, as if the scenery itself were alive. It is a land of stark contrasts, where the scorching heat of the day gives way to the crisp coolness of the night, revealing nature in its most primal form. In such a dynamic and untamed environment, how can architecture not only integrate but also respect and engage with its surroundings? This is the challenge faced by hotels built within Latin America’s vast desert landscapes.

Many people living in large urban centers have, at some point, wished to trade the chaos of city life for the calm and tranquility of nature. As the desire for such experiences grows, Latin American countries' tourism and hospitality sectors have been investing in resorts nestled within forests. Inspired by eco-tourism, these retreats are designed to blend seamlessly into their surroundings, using local materials and traditional techniques that respect the ecosystem and promote sustainability.

Recently selected to participate in the upcoming 2025 edition of the Latin American Architecture Biennial in Pamplona, Práctica Arquitectura has established itself as a young and promising firm in the region, specifically in Mexico. Their architectural work focuses on materializing projects that achieve a high level of sensitivity, both for those who inhabit them and for their immediate surroundings, whatever they may be. In close connection with landscapes and terrains, their projects come to life through a design that carefully considers materials, structures, and details, while ensuring a sensory and emotional experience in the spaces they create.

Videos

In this interview with Louisiana Channel, Mexican architect Gabriela Carrillo introduces us to the challenges that drive her work, particularly the projects carried out as a member of Colectivo C733, in which she currently participates alongside Carlos Facio, José Amozurrutia, Eric Valdez, and Israel Espin. Through an exploration of her definition of architecture, she offers reflections on the design of public spaces, the relationship between architecture and land art, and the role of the preexisting in the transformation of space. She defends architecture as a "powerful tool" for fostering connections between people and their environment, defining her practice as optimistic.

Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP) has announced the five finalist projects for the 2025 Americas Prize, highlighting projects from Argentina, Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The announcement was made by MCHAP Director Dirk Denison and this year's Jury Chair Maurice Cox. The biennial award established in 2013 by the Illinois Institute of Technology's College of Architecture, recognizes exceptional architectural achievements across North, Central, and South America. Considering projects completed between June 2022 and December 2023, it aims to highlight those projects that significantly contribute to their communities and elevate professional standards.