06 A house built round a tree.

How architecture elevates the human spirit.

Finding inspiration is one of the things that I enjoy the most when visiting new places. as the famous quote says, “If you’re still learning, you’re not failing” or something like that.

This morning I visited one of the places that have been on my radar recently. Imagine when you’re asked to build a new house, as one of the most celebrated architects in the country, and you don’t really want but you don’t want to be rude to your client so you agree to go see the space just to confirm your theory that the job is not worth it. And then suddenly, in the middle of the space where the house is meant to be built, there’s a tree that steals all your attention and as a genius in architecture as you are, you visualise the whole project built around that tree.

That’s the true story of how Mexican Architect Luis Barragan came to design and build Casa Gilardi.

The house was designed around the already fully grown Jacaranda tree back in the mid 70s. By then, Luis Barragan was already retired and originally refused the project but legend says that when he saw this tree he had the vision to build a habitable space around it.

The architect put all his knowledge and experience not just of architecture but of vernacular culture, art, design, philosophy and spirituality in this project and it is considered to be his opus magnum.

The walls inside the house feature a carefully selected mix of colours in different solid Pantone colours for specific moods of each room. Textures of all sorts can be found randomly around the house, and windows are shaped in straight angles to allow the maximum natural light to illuminate the house. I noticed that there are no lights installed in any of the ceilings.

The indoor pool has a skylight allowing some daylight to leak in and change the appearance of the dining according to the time of the day. This use of natural light gives the house the feel of being alive.

Most of the windows are painted in a vibrant canary yellow; according to Luis Barragan this is the colour for spirituality so when the light hits the window, the room illuminates like the heavens and it elevates our own spirit to its maximum potential. I’m painting my windows yellow, the current wife’s gonna hate me for this!

I love Barragan’s clever use of colour in the house, it creates a great sense of harmonious peace and tranquility in every corner. You truly forget that you are in such a wild and busy city.

If you ever find yourself with some spare time in Mexico City, I highly recommend you booking a visit to Casa Gilardi, I promise you it is way more spectacular in person. I don’t think any pictures can get the energy that this space has.