Mexico City Pre-Hispanic, Modern & the Hybrid
Day 1 – Arrival & General Introduction of Visiting School. 6pm: Gathering of Group and General Introduction by Course Directors Introduction to the Brief and Schedule.
Day 2 – Visit to Anthropology Museum (+Tamayo), Center Cathedral, Teotihuacan Pyramid (Guided Visit) Mexico City Center, the origin of Modern and and Ancient Mexico. Cathedral and Pre-hispanic Site.
Day 3 – Visit of Key Modernist Sites with a focus on the hybrid with pre-hispanic. UNAM – Espacio Escultorico, Ruta de La Amistad, Anahucalli, Ernesto Gomez Gallardo Mobius House.
Day 4 – Visit to Casa Barragan and Cuadra San Cristobal.
EL Castillo The Formworks
Day 5 – Leaving Mexico City via Satelite Towers. Drive with Group Bus to Las Pozas Garden, Xilitla. Stay at El Castillo designed by Edward James’ right hand man Plutarco Gastelum where all the Formworks are held and exhibited.
Day 6 – Formwork study, subdivision into types. Drawing, digitally and by hand and model making in paper, foam and card. Studies on the positive and the negative.
Moving to Las Pozas Site Garden, Intro Site walk.
Las Pozas – Carpinteria
Days 7, 8 & 9 – Reinstating E. James former carpenters workshop. Formfinding with wax, clays, wood foam, and a variety of materials. Collaging and rescaling of formwork types. 1:1 formwork experimentation in foam and wood. Testing and experimentation with concrete and aggregates. Designing Fragments and ruins, Archeology in reverse as a process of designing . We will be designing modular formworks according to the types we have been studying.
Las Pozas – La Era Workshop
Day 10 – Presentations on findings and application of modular elements. Introduction to our site and move to our concrete workshop in La Era.
Day 11, 12, 13 – Formwork Design and Construction. Initial tests with aggregates and mixes. Following some test design of formworks initial castings will be made. Evaluation of which techniques to take further and develop. Layout of Final Proposal, Schedule & Planning of the On-Site Intervention.
Day 14 – Morning hike to La Trinidad and Beginning Construction of Final Formworks.
Day 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 Formwork production, installation design and final casting of elements that will culminate on the on-site installation.
Day 20 Wrap up in La Era workshop, cleaning of site and departure from Xilitla back to Mexico City.
Biblioteca Central at UNAM by Juan O’Gorman
Antropologia Museum interior courtyard
Australia’s large scale sculpture for Ruta de la Amistad
Jose Horna with a model of El Castillo
Inside of El Castillo in the town of Xilitla
View of construction inside Las Pozas