Although it was only inscribed in 2007 it is somewhat surprising to see that this easily accessible site in an easily accessible city still hasn’t been reviewed almost a year later. When I first visited Mexico City in 1971 it was inconceivable NOT to go out to see it, since the Library building in particular, with its O’Gorman mosaics, was a world famous iconic building occupying much the same space in “world consciousness” as the Sydney Opera House does today. However, much time has passed since those days only 3 years after Mexico hosted the 1968 Olympic Games and had received a degree of exposure since unrepeated (Indeed the Olympic stadium is part of this inscription). I had felt unable to do a review based on visits 36 and 25 years earlier but went back yet again during our trip round Central Mexico in Mar 2008 to assess how time had treated both the site and my perception of it.

“Modern” architecture (if a building designed at the start of the 1950s can be described as “modern”!) tends in my experience often not to survive time particularly well – either physically (e.g one cries to see the state of the buildings in Brasilia) or aesthetically. But we visited on a sunny Saturday morning, the concrete was light, the grass was green and the Jacaranda trees were in full flower – the architecture was being given a helping hand by nature! Students in cloaks and mortar boards were lining up, presumably for graduation ceremonies – a reminder that a complex such as Ciudad Universitaria should really be measured against its prime function of providing a good environment for study and research rather than in terms of its “architectural wow factor”. Only alumni and current students could comment on that but on this sunny day I certainly didn’t find the place “oppressive” despite its size – the walking distances were not too great and buildings’ external condition looked reasonable without too much flaking concrete.

Much of the architecture - low concrete buildings with a lot of pillars, covered walkways and the occasional cantilevered lecture theatre - reminded me of my own UK university buildings from the late 1950s. Unless you are particularly interested in this sort of structure or in the planning of such complexes then the main reason you would go would be to see the more famous buildings – unremarkable boxes in themselves but made “iconic” by the art work which covers them.

First the Refectory, with its “sculptural painting” by Siqueiros titled “The People for the University. The University for the People” (photo). Today its social realism and overt support for a discredited political systen makes it seem very passée. (Siqueiros was jailed for leading a failed attempt, using machine guns and explosives, on the life of Leon Trotsky and was later to receive the Lenin Peace Prize!). On the other hand O’Gorman’s mosaics on the Library (photo) are very “Mexican” – and that perhaps is the problem. Now its novelty has passed, this building is situated in an architectural cul de sac of its time and country which didn’t really lead to other things (whereas eg The Sydney Opera House speaks a universal language and heralded the use of new shapes in architecture). For us this had already been a “holiday of murals” and we had seen what we felt were better, more powerful/memorable works by Siqueiros and O’Gorman (see later) as well as Rivera and Orozco elsewhere in the city and in other buildings in Central Mexico.

In conclusion - if you have time after doing the “essential” sites in the city centre/Teotihuacan and are interested in Twentieth Century art and architecture then certainly spend the 4 pesos return on the Mexico underground (40 cents US!) to get out there (Line 3 to Copilco or Universidad – the former is actually closer to the main buildings). The nearby Coyoacan area also has some interesting sights, pleasant restaurants etc etc. If you are short of time then I personally think there are better things with World Heritage connections to see in the suburbs – e.g the already-inscribed Casa Luis Barragán and (as second choice!) the Mexican T List site of the Rivera/Kahlo houses designed by O'Gorman who was both artist and architect. AND if you REALLY want to get into the WHS-related Murals of these 2 artists then O'Gorman has another one in Mexico City's T List site of Chapultepec Castle,

whilst Siqueiros has work there as well and also in the T List site of San Miguel Allende (in the "Bellas Artes")!!