Arboledas

housing

MExico City, Mexico

1986

Modified by its inhabitants over time and no longer possessing the fully unified spirit it had at its beginnings, the Arboledas single-family housing complex nonetheless retains the congruence of forms and volumes that Miguel Ángel Aragonés has managed to imprint on all his works. Were it not for the trees planted in the central, integrating space, the roofs used to shade the cars, and the changes in finishes — above all in the interiors of the buildings — the complex of 12 houses still demonstrates that capacity to link the walls together, giving the constructions a primary role, and assigning to the open spaces the function of transition areas, with a tranquil and harmonious atmosphere that ultimately leads to the intimacy of a family home.

Working with a triangular plot and making the most of the space, Miguel Ángel Aragonés designed a path that leads to the houses, where the planes close or open to give the sensation of moving through the depths of a thrilling ravine, where on both sides one discovers an enigma and the panorama changes with each step.

Matiana Gonzales Silva Text

Fabio Foresti Photography

Una escultura de bloques de piedra apilados en forma de picos, en una superficie de tierra con vegetación.
Un mural con fondo en tonos azules y una superficie de pared en tonos beige y gris, con una figura triangular amarilla y rayas rojas y negras en la esquina inferior izquierda.
Exterior de un edificio con paredes color amarillo y naranja, decorado con dos jarrones con patrones coloridos en el suelo, bajo un cielo nocturno.

The Arboledas project holds a special place for Miguel Ángel Aragonés. The housing development in which it is located was designed by Luis Barragán, and even one of the walls that encloses the complex was, in its time, the work of this architect whom Miguel Ángel so greatly admires. Hence the respectful spirit toward the outside that the Arboledas complex carries — where, behind Barragán's magnificent stone wall, only a few discrete and sober volumes peer out, trying not to impose noise on that element, yet without renouncing the ambition to imbue the project with its own spirit.

Toward the outside, the complex is nearly mimetic; toward the inside, an interesting play of geometry unfolds, with right angles, acute or wider angles, volumes that arise and, always, white as a backdrop. It is true that the complex has not remained intact. But even amid the disorder, among abandoned bicycles in common areas, order and harmony do not lose their firmness, and the architecture manages to assert itself with the force of a consolidated and considered project — as a grand unity.

Pared de color rojo y anaranjado con luz amarilla en una esquina, sombra de árbol sin hojas sobre la pared, reflejo oscuro de árboles y cielo en una superficie de agua y ventanas con cuadro amarillo en la parte derecha.
Vista de un árbol con hojas verdes en un fondo de cielo claro, al fondo hay una pared de colores naranja y azul.
Vista de un muro de piedra con diferentes texturas y colores, adornado con una reja en la parte inferior y rodeado de árboles y cielo en el fondo.
Vista de un interior con paredes de piedra y ventanas con persianas, mobiliario de madera y plantas decorativas.
Interior de una sala de juegos para niños con sillas de madera y un árbol de bloques de juguete en primer plano, paredes decoradas con cuadros y ventanas.

PRoject DEtails

  • Miguel Angel Aragonés

  • Mauricio Rivera

  • Ricardo Pérez-Saravia, Fabio Foresti

  • Mexico city, Mexico