We had a near religious experience at UNAM, or National Autonomous University of Mexico. The main campus, south of Mexico City, which is called Ciudad Universitaria, was built in the 1950s and was designed by Mexico’s most prominent 20th century architects and artists. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.
The term autonomous is key, as the university is separate from the State. The overriding mission is to train professionals to help benefit the wider populous with both art and science. To us at least, the pure modernism of the campus is in concert with the high purpose of the institution.
Modernist architecture, in the beginning, aimed to lift humanity. With belief in universal planning, architecture could shape society with improvements of how it functioned. Gone was the chaos of overlapping historical beliefs: all of that muddied the mind. The architecture wanted to solve problems that all humans share.
A basic language of modernism was developed, which included:
–Pilotis: Buildings are raised above the ground plane on columns. You could then use the space under the building for pedestrians, vehicular parking, etc.
–Open floor plan: With clear spans, the floors can be arranged according to the need of the user.
–Inset Columns: Perimeter columns were inset, which allowed for a free arrangement of the windows. This increased the connection of the interior to the exterior.
–Thin rectangles: Most buildings were thin and long, which increased utility, as well as interior / exterior connection.
–Green Spaces: Open green spaces, with trees and lawns, unite buildings with nature.
The University City campus design adheres to all of the above, and more. The buildings, and the campus, are working in concert, in one language. It is very rare for there to be an environment on this scale which has such purity. Matera, Italy, is one. Machu Pichu, in Peru, is another. And here we have an environment, designed by artists and architects, that is of one belief. It is uncommon to be able to experience such holistic unity.
We spent over two hours walking around. We could have spent all day. All of the buildings were in active and enthusiastic use by students. Here is undiluted modernism, as it was originally conceived. And it is successful.
