If you are fascinated by the artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, consider paying a visit to the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo in Mexico City.
The Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo consists of a pair of homes/studios embodying functionalist design at its most utilitarian. One belonged to Frida Kahlo, the other to Diego Rivera, allowing them to live and work side-by-side.
Juan O’Gorman’s Pair of Homes for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo
Diego Rivera commissioned the architect Juan O’Gorman to build the homes, one of Kahlo’s childhood friends. O’Gorman had already designed a modernist house on the adjacent plot in 1929. He intended for his father Cecil to live in it, which is why it is called the Cecil O’Gorman House, but his father never occupied it.
Rivera was impressed with the home, which inspired him to commission O’Gorman to create similar structures for himself and Kahlo. They were completed in 1931, and the two artists finally moved into them in 1934. The blue house belonged to Kahlo, while the red and white house belonged to Rivera.
A Stunning Example of Raw Functionalist Design
All three homes on the site—Kahlo’s, Rivera’s, and the O’Gorman house that preceded them—are examples of functionalism in design. At the time, Juan O’Gorman was highly committed to this approach. While the buildings are pleasing to the eye, he wasn’t really focused on that, or on making them stand out. His priorities were to design studio homes that were efficiently utilitarian, and inexpensive to build.
The materials used in construction include reinforced concrete, brick, asbestos sheets with iron frames, steel, and glass. O’Gorman drew substantial influence from Le Corbusier, particularly the studio house that architect designed for the artist Amédée Ozenfant in 1922. The sawtooth roof profile of that home inspired the one O’Gorman chose for Rivera’s house, pictured above. The home also features a spiral staircase inspired by Ozenfant’s.
Surfaces were finished in inexpensive ways, and utilities were left exposed. That includes drainage pipes, water tanks, water supply, garbage duct tubes, and electrical wiring. As the exposed wiring is not safe, it is not used anymore.
The homes boast some distinctly regional elements as well, such as a fence grown out of cacti.
How to Visit the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo
You will find the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo at:
Diego Rivera s/n, San Angel Inn, Alvaro Obregon, 01060 CDMX
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 5:30pm. General admission is 45 pesos—an excellent deal to explore such a stunning example of functionalist design, learning more about the lives of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Juan O’Gorman as you do.
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Designer Le Corbusier’s Mark on Tokyo and The Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts: Le Corbusier’s Only North American Structure. And of course, don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube for more Atomic Ranch articles, house tours, and ideas!
