Arts & Entertainment
 

See the house that Menil never built
 

Barragan's proposed plans on display in the museum that rejected them before his death

Museum moments

Amy Perez

Much like the feeling one gets when something doesn't go according to plan, the exhibit An Unbuilt House for the Menil evokes both curiosity and longing for Mexican architect Luis Barragán's fully realized vision of a house adjacent to The Menil Collection in the museum district.

Judging from the intricate, boldly colored proposed site plans and presentation boards, Barragán and business partner Raúl Ferrera had one truly unique house in mind. The two-story construction was to contain a quiet, secluded patio next to an outdoor swimming pool, recreational studio/library, two large bedrooms with bathrooms, living and dining areas, two service rooms and a spacious kitchen.

Barragán, born in Guadalajara, Mexico, grew up with the belief that formal education in the arts hindered architects from their natural abilities. The architect used dramatic light and color schemes to create spaces of tranquility, designed exclusively for contemplation and isolation.

During his lifetime, Barragán became known for his minimalist structures, all of which can still be found in Mexico. The architect won the world's most prestigious architecture award in 1980, the Pritzker Architecture Prize, a mere eight years before his death.

In addition to several blueprints and a full-scale model, An Unbuilt House for The Menil also includes correspondence excerpts from The Menil Archives. Viewers are able to read letters from both architectural designers addressed to the de Menil family, as well as discern the reasons the family cites for withdrawing from the proposal.

Because the proposed scale of the house was too large, the building's presence was overwhelming rather than intimate and the projected budget was too much for a structure that would not be inhabited on a full-time basis, the de Menil family decided to reconsider construction after adjustments were made by Barragán and Ferrera. But, since the project's conception in 1984, Barragán's health was on a steady decline, and his death in 1988 diminished any remaining hope that the structure would ever come to fruition.

Luis Barragán and Raúl Ferrera envisioned a calm place of seclusion, ideal for today's artist and free thinker. Had the house been built, it would be the only structure of Barragán's constructed outside of Mexico.

Luis Barragán

An Unbuilt House for the Menil

The Menil Collection

1515 Sul Ross Street

Showing: through May 23

The verdict: Viewers may shun the de Menil family for calling it quits on this exquisite project.
 
 

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