Francisco Mujica (January 29, 1899 – after 1929) was a Mexican architect. He developed a "neo-American" style of architecture.
Biography
Mujica was born on January 29, 1899, [1] in Mexico. His father, Mujica y Savago, was a diplomat. He was educated in Mexico, Chile, Spain, Belgium, and Paris, studying architecture, archaeology, urbanism, and sociology. Mujica was a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and in Buenos Aires. He received a silver medal from the Paris Salon. [2] [3]
He investigated ruins in Mexico that dated to the pre-Columbian era and worked to create reconstructions showing what they likely looked like. Based upon these models, Mujica developed a "neo-American" style of architecture which received various awards from the Pan-American Congress of Architects. [2] In 1919 Mujica proposed a skyscraper that would be thirty-four stories and based upon the Pyramid of Huatusco. [4] In 1929 Mujica included his ideas in his introduction to History of the Skyscraper, [2] which he self-published. The book was re-published in 1977 by Da Capo Press. [5] [6]
He also designed a "city of the future" with eighty story buildings and proposed it to the New York City Planning Commission. A commenter for The Brooklyn Daily Eagle described his proposals as "A little more practical than mere oil paint fantasies" and concluded that it was an "interesting idea, but apalling [ sic]." [3]
His work has been cited as an influence on the Art Deco movement. [4]
References
- ^ "Finding Aid to the Francisco Mujica Diez de Bonilla Papers, 1956-1979". oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
- ^ a b c Carranza & Lara 2015.
- ^ a b Pelletier, Jean (1930-09-14). "City of the Future". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 80. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
- ^ a b Tauranac 1997, p. 148.
- ^ Corbett, Michael R. (1978-10-01). "Review: History of the Skyscraper by Francisco Mujica". Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians. 37 (3): 224–225. doi: 10.2307/989236. ISSN 0037-9808. JSTOR 989236.
- ^ Zimmerman, Claire (2019-09-24). "If the price is right: the hard currency of architecture". Architectural Review. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
Bibliography
- Carranza, Luis E.; Lara, Fernando Luiz (2015-01-05). Modern Architecture in Latin America: Art, Technology, and Utopia. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-76818-5.
- Tauranac, John (1997-04-15). Empire State Building: The Making of a Landmark. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-14824-9.
Further reading
- Carranza, Luis Esteban (1998). Paradigms of the avant-garde: Mexican modern architecture, 1920--1940 (PhD thesis). Harvard University.