I visited this WHS in December 2021. I had been chasing tickets online for months before my planned trip to Mexico, checking every week for availabilities as bookings are only possible for the upcoming 4-5 weeks, but to no avail. Lately, due to COVID restrictions and several functions at the Luis Barragan House, only about 3 or 4 daily tours are conducted, each with a maximum number of 6 visitors so tours tend to fill up very quick. Most tours are conducted in Spanish and usually one is done in English (usually in the afternoon).

When I had almost lost all hope, two free spots became visible on the official Luis Barragan House website, and I managed to book our visit not without any major hiccups encountered while browsing their rather unfriendly booking system. Make sure to have all your details ready and ideally more than one type of credit card as I only managed to settle the 400 pesos per ticket prepayment on the third attempt. When I finally managed to secure our booking, I received the entrance tickets by email, and I set a reminder on my mobile phone with the booked time as only 10 minutes are allowed as a grace period if you're late. I also decided to pay the extra 500 pesos on the spot to be able to take photos.

After ringing the bell at the entrance, we were asked to wait in the Jardin Barragan 17 just opposite till the remaining visitors of our group arrived. The young guide did a really good job to give interesting information and to show us the highlights inside this WHS. In the second room after entering the house proper (14), I immediately spotted the UNESCO WHS inscription certificate, after having spotted the white marble UNESCO WHS plaque outside which is almost impossible to read.

The first thing you'll notice upon entering the former residence of Luis Barragan is that there are no visible artificial lights illuminating the interior. All are cleverly hidden in the walls and there is a precise interplay between geometrical lines and different shades of colour and light. Moreover, the house retains the original furniture and Barragan's personal objects and collection of different works of art. The house was built in 1948 and the architect lived in it up until his death in 1988. It was opened to the public by guided tours only in 1994 and 10 years later it was inscribed on the WH list. There are quite a lot of similarities with other modern architecture WHS, especially Le Corbusier and Rietveld Schroderhuis, although I still felt that the latter offered much more incredible surprises inside overall. The definite highlight of the Luis Barragan House interior for me was the splendid living room/library with huge windows overlooking the inner garden. The whole interior design is top notch and still seems perfectly modern and liveable, especially when considering that it is situated almost at the heart of one of the biggest and busiest metropolitan cities in the world!

The Pritzker Prize Luis Barragan received in 1980 is on display inside the house as are several works of art inspired by the house itself. The main characteristic features of Barragan's work can be observed all at once mostly in the vestibule and in the reading room where you can easily appreciate his use of natural light, geometric forms, pure bright colors and staircases without railings. The house is purposely built with high walls and only a few small windows so the facade is rather plain and flat, with no way to guess the layout inside. Instead, the house focuses inward, and is centered on a garden surrounded by high walls. In fact, the house has been compared to an oasis with high walls to keep out the “urban chaos" outside as much as possible. The patio on the roof of the residence is highly evocative with bright colours and is assembled by geometric walls that rise above the roof level.

Even though I'm not a modern architecture enthusiast, I really enjoyed the guided visit inside this WHS and whenever I'll revisit Mexico City, I would love to visit other places related to Luis Barragan such as the Casa Prieto Lopez.  Named World Design Capital by the World Design Organization in 2018, the first city in the Americas to receive such an honour, Mexico City is steeped in Barragan's influence. Even his signature shade of deep pink is now the city's official color, splashed across taxis and metro stations.