Architecture
Mexico City
165.00 USD
per person:
Duration:
4 1/2 Hours
Tour Guide:
Licensed Architect
Availability:
Tuesday through Saturday
Mode of Transportation:
VW Beetle convertible or VW classic Combi bus with an architect as your guide & driver
Visited Places:
Casa Nancarrow, Casa Estudio Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo, UNAM and more
A precursor of functionalism and a founding father of the modernist movement in Mexico, Juan O’Gorman started his prolific career as an architect before addressing his multiple talents to other forms of art. A strong believer in social justice and equal opportunity, O’Gorman’s political convictions had a profound impact on all of his creative works, from his buildings to his murals and mosaics.
During the course of our 4 1/2 hour tour, discover a man of many gifts and, through his works and vision, gain insight into 20th Century Mexico, a country aspiring to a new identity and resolutely turned towards the future.
Born in 1905, just 5 years before the Mexican Revolution, of an Irish father and Mexican mother, Juan O’Gorman spent his first years in the colorful mining city of Guanajuato in the central highlands of Mexico where, early on, he began to refine his unique artistic sensibility.
During the revolution, the O’Gormans moved back to Mexico City. During his high school years, Juan met the young Frida Kahlo, with whom he developed a lifelong friendship. After honing his skills with some of the most famous architects in Mexico he launched out on his own, at the tender age of 24, building what is considered the first functionalist houses in Mexico, one of which was designed for his friends Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera.
In 1932, Juan O’Gorman joined the SEP, the Mexican Ministry of Education, where his attention and interest drove him to focus on building functional and affordable schools in Mexico City and across the country. During the same period, O’Gorman designed a number of private residences for influential political figures and founded the School of Engineering and Architecture at the IPN (National Polytechnic Institute), one of Mexico’s most prestigious science and technology universities.
By the age of 30, the young O’Gorman, disillusioned by government bureaucracy and corruption, abandoned the practice of architecture, which he no longer considered to be an effective medium for social transformation or for his artistic expression.
It was in painting, murals, and mosaics, that O’Gorman eventually found the creative outlet he so desperately needed. Years later, when he resumed his career as an architect, his vision had radically altered and morphed from simple functionalism to a more organic and decorative approach to the art.
Our Juan O’Gorman Tour will have you discover an architect and artist with an intricate mind whose personal life was in many ways as complex as his work.
Your Juan O’Gorman tour includes:
Not included in your Juan O’Gorman tour are:
Book your City Tour now! We only require a small reservation fee.
Full payment by credit card or in cash is only required on the day of your tour.
165.00 USD p/person
Visited Places:
Tlatelolco, Insigna Tower, Escuela Nacional de Maestros, Edificio Condominio Reforma and more.
115.00 USD p/person
Visited Places:
Las Torres de Satélite, La Fuente de los Amantes, Cuadra San Cristóbal & El Bebedero (currently under construction).
$125.00 USD p/person
Visited Places:
OMR, Kurimanzutto, Lago Algo, Proyectos Monclova, Arroniz, Licenciado, Maia, Karen Huber, Lulu, Salón Silicón and Labor among options according to availability.