The construction of domestic light: Luis Barragan's studio house
Natural light, more than a technical or functional resource, constitutes one of the fundamental aspects in the architectural conception of Luis Barragán. In his work, light not only shapes space but also imbues it with an emotional, intimate, and contemplative character. This research focuses on a d...
| Autor: | |
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis de maestría |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2025 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dnet:upcommonspor::e87b44253fe3c2ca20094395c0988b08 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/462211 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Barragán, Luis, 1902-1988 -- Criticism and interpretation Light in architecture Housing, Single family -- Mexico -- Tacubaya Barragán, Luis, 1902-1988 -- Crítica i interpretació Llum en l'arquitectura Habitatges unifamiliars -- Mèxic -- Tacubaya Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Arquitectura::Tipologies d'edificis::Habitatges |
| Sumario: | Natural light, more than a technical or functional resource, constitutes one of the fundamental aspects in the architectural conception of Luis Barragán. In his work, light not only shapes space but also imbues it with an emotional, intimate, and contemplative character. This research focuses on a detailed exploration of this treatment of light through the analysis of his own residence and studio, built in 1948 on Francisco Ramírez 14 Street, in Mexico City. This house, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is understood not only as a place of living and working but also as an experimental laboratory where Barragán tested, refined, and consolidated lighting strategies that he would later apply in works such as Casa Prieto López and Casa Gilardi. The central hypothesis underpinning this study argues that Barragán modified the Studio House project in situ, responding directly to the real conditions of light, orientation, and climate of the site. This transforms the Studio House into a testing device, where the architect developed a methodology based on the phenomenological and sensory experience of inhabited space. As noted in La Revolución Callada, Barragán’s work moves away from the rigidity of the definitive plan and opens itself to transformation through a constant dialogue with light and time. This research approaches the Studio House from a dual perspective. On one hand, as a geometric machine that organizes light through the precise arrangement of walls, openings, double heights, and courtyards; and on the other, as an emotional space where light builds atmospheres charged with silence and contemplation. This dual approach recognizes that in Barragán’s architecture there is no separation between constructive rationality and atmospheric poetics: both intertwine in a single design gesture. The relevance of this research lies in positioning the Studio House as the core of an experimental design process that transcends the domestic scale to become an architectural manifesto. Here, the dwelling is both an intimate refuge and a testing ground; a space where the act of inhabiting and the act of designing merge. The detailed analysis of this work (through plans, sections, axonometric drawings, solar incidence diagrams, historical and contemporary photographs, as well as graphic recreations of interior atmospheres) allows us to understand how natural light becomes a project material and how it integrates with color, texture, and spatial sequence. |
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