LEARNING TO INHABIT THE SCHOOL ARCHITECTURE OF THE NEW URBAN ORDER (FEDERAL DISTRICT, MEXICO, 1932)

Abstract²:

In 1932, the team of technicians led by the functionalist architect Juan O'Gorman developed a school architecture project for the popular neighborhoods of the Federal District (Mexico). One of these schools, the Emiliano Zapata elementary school (now recognized as a national artistic monument), was built in a neighborhood founded in the north of Mexico City as part of an urban expansion strategy promoted by businessmen and the Mexican government. Its builders believed that the school building was the means to transform the popular classes of Mexican society and promote a modern urban order. Functionalist school architecture generated heated discussions between engineers and architects about the impact of this type of building on the urban landscape and on the taste of its inhabitants. However, its promoters assured that eventually the popular classes would learn to inhabit the new school buildings and overcome the illiteracy and insalubrity that affected both their bodies and their minds.

Key words:
School architecture; Learning; Modernity; Urban order; Juan O'Gorman