Le Tour Félix Candela

Born in 1910 in Spain, Candela spent his early years in Madrid, where he studied architecture and from an early age developed a special interest in geometry. In 1939, after the Spanish Civil War, Candela emigrated from Spain to Mexico.

In 1949 he built his first experimental shell and founded the company Cubiertas Ala a company dedicated to the design and construction of shell roofs in Mexico. To design them, Candela took full advantage of the structural and expressive characteristics of the hyperbolic paraboloid, a geometric shape that allows the construction of ultra-thin concrete shells.

Between 1950 and 1970 (his most prolific period), Felix Candela developed in collaboration with other architects roofs for a variety of purposed ranging from factories to churches, such as; the Bacardi Bottling plant, Los Manantiales restaurant and the Medalla Milagrosa Church.

During the course of our tour, discover a series of works of varied geometries, which illustrate not only how innovative and creative Candela was, but also how much he challenged the very limits of physics.

• Discover the Medalla Milagrosa Church, which was built in 1953 and was his first religious architecture commission. The daring combination of warped surfaces generates one of the most stunning religious spaces of twentieth century architecture.
• Visit of the Chapel Nuestra Señora de la Soledad « El Altillo » famous for the words of the architect Richard Neutra « In here only 2 inches separate us from God ».
• Discover the roof of the San Vicente de Paul chapel which is shaped like a wimple and is a beautiful example of how his concrete shells changed religious spaces in Mexico City.

The Félix Candela tour includes:

• Transportation in a VW Beetle convertible or vintage VW Combi bus
• Your guide (a licensed architect) during the 4-hour tour
• Admission fees to all the properties and sites visited
• Photo permit for all locations
• Bottled water
• Hotel pick-up & drop-off (for private tours only)

Not included in your Félix Candela tour are:

• Meals
• Purchases you may choose to make along the way
• Gratuities you may choose to give at your discretion

It goes without saying that architects and engineers will particularly enjoy this tour. However, Candela’s unique designs make his work appealing to a much wider audience as they all have a poetic feel to them.

Rates for The Juan O’Gorman Tour: