Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo House-Studio Museum
Juan O’Gorman · Mexico City, Mexico · 1932
Juan O’Gorman’s paired studios for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo are among Mexico’s earliest uncompromising functionalist buildings. Two highly economical concrete volumes are linked by an elevated bridge and use sawtooth glazing, exposed stairs, roof terraces and industrial windows to support artistic work rather than conventional domestic representation. Cactus fencing and vivid color add a distinctly local counterpoint to the machine-like forms. Finished in 1932, the ensemble was crucial to the emergence of Mexican architectural modernism.