Casa Gilardi – Mexico City (Luis Barragán)

photo by "Thelmadatter"

The inspirational architect Luis Barragán, completed Casa Gilardi in 1976 in Mexico City, a masterclass in using color, light, and space to create emotional impact. For me, it was the visionary power of the owner, Martín Luque, to persuade Barragán—already retired at the time—to take on the commission that makes this story remarkable. Barragán ultimately agreed because he wanted to preserve the trees on the plot, designing the house to embrace and protect them.

Casa Gilardi became the architect’s final house before his death, a poetic closing chapter to his career. The result is a sequence of intimate and dramatic spaces—most famously, a dining room bathed in radiant purple and a central pool open to the sky. Barragán’s masterful use of vibrant color—deep blues, warm pinks, sunlit yellows—creates an ever-changing play of light that makes each room feel alive, inviting its inhabitants to slow down, reflect, and experience the home as a retreat for the senses. Casa Gilardi stands as a testament to how architecture can transform daily life into a work of art while honoring nature’s presence.