COSMIC LIVING

Cosmic Living

The true purpose behind Javier Senosiain’s alien-like architecture.

Most architects work to fulfil a commercial demand, others meet a particular civic need. A precious few, like Javier Senosiain, are in it to make a philosophical point.

Back in 1995, the aesthetics of contemporary architecture were those of a tech-forward minimalism. Cool tones, clean surfaces and a whole host of seamless glass skyscrapers rising up in every city. Over in Mexico however, Senosiain was working on projects like this.

The Satellite House Complex in Mexico City consists of 4 separate dwellings, each partially buried beneath blankets of soil and climbing vegetation. Every one is as intensely curvaceous and colourful as the next, flowing through an organic vernacular that exists in direct protest of the clinical, machine-made works of the time.

Following in a healthy tradition of Mexican architects-cum-artists, Senosiain had strong philosophical disagreements with the direction the industry was taking, disagreements that he voiced through his built works, his published writings and his time as a professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. One quote in particular sums him up best:

“Before we’re born, we’re floating in our mother’s belly, like astronauts in space or a permanent Jacuzzi, but then we’re pushed into a box, a crib, and we move from one box to another throughout our lives - playpens, bedrooms, square houses - until we die and are put in another box. We make life for children very square, killing off liberty, spontaneity, and creativity. My designs want to go against this rule of life.”

Back in 1995, the aesthetics of contemporary architecture were those of a tech-forward minimalism.

Following in a healthy tradition of Mexican architects-cum-artists, Senosiain had strong philosophical disagreements with the direction the industry was taking.

Javier Senosiain finished a number of similar projects in his career, including 1984’s Casa Organica, the crown jewel of Senosiain’s portfolio that originally served as his home. Following in the footsteps of Juan O’Gorman and Félix Candela, his work continues to contribute towards the distinct identity that Mexican architects have carved out for themselves on the global scene, ceaselessly rejecting the pull towards conformity with a homogeneous international style.