Design and Style Report image, organic architecture exhibition with model of snake living structure

Organic Architecture

Posted in Architecture, Art

What is Organic Architecture? Organic architecture is an approach to design that focuses on natural surroundings and sustainability, promoting harmony between human habitation and the natural world. First coined by Frank Lloyd Wright, Organic Architecture limits its infringement upon nature by coexisting alongside it, blending as seamlessly as possible into the surroundings. The current exhibition at the Noguchi Museum in NY – In Praise of Caves: Organic Architecture Projects from Mexico by Carlos Lazo, Mathias Goeritz, Juan O’Gorman and Javier Senosian, explores examples of this discipline by these highly esteemed visionaries from Mexico.

Featured image: Javier Senosian’s – El Nido de Quetzalcóatl, (1998–2007), 2007. Model fabricated by Enrique Cabrera Espinosa de los Monteros. Mixed media

Design and Style Report image, organic architecture of inside white cave house
Javier Senosian – Model for Casa Orgánica, Mexico City (1985), 1984. Fabricated by Enrique Cabrera Espinosa de los Monteros. Mixed media. (The interior of the house is pictured). Photo © Javier Senosiain / Arquitectura Orgánica.
Design and Style Report image, organic architecture of top view of white architecture model of cave house
Above view of Javier Senosian’s Casa Orgánica model.
Design and Style Report image, organic architecture exhibition of large abstract snake sculpture
Sculpture model made for the show of Mathias Goeritz’s La Serpiente de El Eco. The serpent represents to the artist the motion of the human spirit.
Design and Style Report image, organic architecture exhibition of small skull sculptures
Mathias Goeritz, Untitled works from the series Open Mind and Empty Head, 1950.

Homologous Design

The show is a combination of archival photographs, sculptures, paintings and architectural models all in service to their intended surroundings, re-imagining how structures can be created and envisioned. The four Mexican artists as part of the Organic Architecture ‘movement’, emphasized their ideas through modern designs informed by the unique Mexican landscape. This aesthetic is also connected to the environment by incorporating Mexican history and culture into their designs rather than being overshadowed by the architectural techniques they learned in the US and Europe. They all shared Isamu Noguchi’s wide-ranging vision of art and architecture and how they relate to surrounding spaces in the natural world.

Design and Style Report image, organic architecture photo of inside cave house with two people playing chess
Photo by Eliot Elisofon/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock (12084788a) Mexican painter and architect Juan O’Gorman (1905 – 1982) and his wife, American botanist Helen O’Gorman (nee Fowler), play chess in a room in the home he designed and decorated, Mexico City, Mexico, 1959. The O’Gorman’s Play Chess At Home, Mexico
Design and Style Report image, organic architecture of stone house model
Documentary model of the O’Gorman Cave-Studio House, 162 Avenue San Jerónimo (1948–54, partially destroyed c. 1969), 2021–22. Stone, acrylic, styrene.
Design and Style Report image, organic architecture exhibition of large black and white wall mural and architectural model
Large wall mural: Carlos Lazo, Augusto Pérez Palacios, and Jorge Bravo, Programa Cuevas Civilizadas, Sur de av. Constituyentes en de La Torres, Belén de las Flores, Alvaro Obregón, Mexico City, c. 1953. Fondo Aerofotográfico Acervo Histórico Fundación ICA, A.C
Design and Style Report image, organic architecture exhibition showing black and white photos
Interior views, Carlos Lazo’s Programa Cuevas Civilizadas. Fotografía del Archivo de Arquitectos Mexicanos, Fondo Augusto Pérez Palacios, Facultad de Arquitectura, UNAM
Design and Style Report image, organic architecture exhibition of large mosaic snake wrapping around structure
Javier Senosiain Aguilar and Enrique Cabrera Espinosa de los Monteros, La Coata, 2022. Concrete, mosaic.
Design and Style Report image, organic architecture exhibition showing mosaic detail of snake
Mosaic detail of Javier Senosiain’s Espinosa de los Monteros, La Coata.
Design and Style Report image, organic architecture top view of house built in landscape
Overhead model view of Carlos Lazo’s Casa-Cueva de la Era Atómica (Atomic Age Cave House), 1945–48,
Design and Style Report image, organic architecture exhibition showing model of house in landsape
Exterior view of Carlos Lazo’s Casa-Cueva de la Era Atómica. Photo Photo: Nicholas Knight. © The Noguchi Museum / ARS

Noguchi Musem – In Praise of Caves: Organic Architecture Projects from Mexico by Carlos Lazo, Mathias Goeritz, Juan O’Gorman and Javier Senosian, on view through February 26, 2023. 718.204.7088

Published by design and style report

Love of design & style in all things: fashion, art, culture, music, food, film, craftsmanship in any form, interiors, architecture & life. Any pictures of artworks in galleries shown are taken with permission from gallery personnel and/or artist. Images from museums are taken where there were no visible postings prohibiting photography. All articles and photography by Avril Ives all rights reserved. Email: designandstylereport@gmail.com

Leave a Reply