![]() ![]() An example of volunteering was at Casa Barragán, where the tour guides were architecture students from Mexico. The seeds of volunteering for preservation are sown through the academic setup. Some of his students had volunteered to document the damage sustained by Los Manantiales Restaurant. UNAM has been actively involved in documenting, maintaining and bringing awareness about Félix Candela’s shell structures. Juan Ignacio, a Félix Candela expert and a faculty at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México i.e. This act speaks of how much the community values its architecture as they did not limit the documentation to only important structures. While interacting with the local scholars during the trip, I found out that a lot of architectural professionals had volunteered to document the effects of earthquakes on all structures in and around Mexico City. A massive earthquake had struck Mexico City on September 19, 2017, just a month before the DOCOMOMO US’ Modernism in Mexico City tour. ![]() ![]() This high-quality design has allowed the building to continue being used, which has been instrumental to the maintenance of the structures to this day.Įvery small thought and action matters to achieving a goal. Candela’s design provided an elegant column-free space with natural light peeking through the glass windows at the seems, all in perfect alignment with the practical requirements of a plant like this one. As an architect, I was amazed by the innovative use of free-standing shells to house the bottling plant, especially for a 1950’s building. During this visit, we got to see the corporate building designed by Mies Van Der Rohe along with the bottling plant designed by Félix Candela. On very short notice, DOCOMOMO team arranged for us to visit one of Candela’s other projects: the Bacardi Factory and Bottling plant. Unfortunately, due to the structural damage, the building had suffered during the devastating earthquake of September 19, 2017, we couldn’t visit it. This is what helped me focus on the two architects I studied for my graduate thesis.Īnother destination I was excited to see was “Los Manantiales Restaurant”, a building designed by Félix Candela. Many of the fellow travellers briefly knew about Indian architects Charles Correa and B.V.Doshi (Pritzker Prize Awardee 2018) and were curious to know about modern architecture in India. This travel grant was an opportunity to see and interact with various preservation professionals from all over the US and Mexico. Three weeks after the applications were closed, I was informed that I was one of the travel grant fellows. Hence I submitted my application which consisted of an essay stating why I need the travel grant, essay on my goals as a preservation professional and a letter of recommendation along with some other documents. I have always enjoyed travelling and experiencing spaces. During the meeting, Liz Waytkuz, Executive Director of DOCOMOMO US mentioned about the travel fellowship to Mexico City. During my second semester of graduate studies in Historic Preservation at Pratt Institute, Lisa Ackerman, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of World Monuments Fund, had arranged for a meeting of various professionals involved in the field of preservation in New York City and students who were taking her class. ![]()
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