Nueva Vivienda – New Housing Paradigms in Mexico

In the period following World War II, eminent Mexican architects such as Juan O’Gorman and Luis Barragán pioneered the adaptation of an international narrative in housing design to their own cultural environment. Seven decades on, Mexican architecture, and housing design in particular, is experiencing a renaissance and gaining unparalleled international attention owing to the ideas and ambitions of a new generation of architects. Mexico’s architects are making Epics in the Everyday: Photography, Architecture, and the Problem of Realism a strong contribution to a global discourse grounded in local economic and cultural issues, as well as environmental concerns. Nueva Vivienda features twenty-two exceptional housing projects in Mexico from the last ten years through images, floor plans, and sections, with accompanying scholarly essays offering historical and theoretical background. Featuring a series of conversations among architects, developers, and researchers, the book illuminates the local context for these projects, highlighting their designers’ new ideas and their contribution to reimagining housing typologies. Moreover, it traces the impact of these ideas beyond Mexico. Contributions by Armando Hashimoto and Surella Segú, Sebastián López Cardozo, and Jesús Vassallo; conversations with Hector Barroso, Gabriela Etchegaray, Alfonso Garduno, and Chavo Macias; Jorge Ambrosi, Wonne Ickx, Diego Ricalde, and Rodrigo Rivero Borrell; Luis Aldrete, Alfonso Enciso, Alberto Kritzler, and Magui Peredo.