Juan O’Gorman

Juan O’Gorman (1905–1982) was a visionary Mexican architect and muralist who pioneered functionalist architecture in Latin America. Influenced by Le Corbusier, he designed Mexico’s first modernist house in 1929 and the iconic Rivera-Kahlo studio in 1932. Later, he embraced organic architecture, culminating in the Central Library at UNAM, whose vast stone mosaic façade narrates Mexico’s cultural history. O’Gorman’s work fused social commitment with artistic innovation, leaving a lasting legacy in architecture and public art.

 “In synthesis, functionalism in architecture is mechanically reasonable and humanly illogical because man is not a machine.” – Juan O’Gorman