Manuel Rocha Díaz
Encyclopedia
Manuel Rocha Diaz was a Mexican
architect
.
He was born in Mexico City
in 1936 and died in 1996. He graduated in 1961 at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico where he studied with Augusto H. Álvarez
. In 1960 he spent three months in Japan where he had a big influence on Japanese traditional architecture. In 1962 he married Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide
, with whom he had two sons and one daughter that died in 1970. That year he won a contest in order to build the Bella vista Golf Club in México City and from there on he had a successful career. At the end of the 1970s he became a strong supporter of Postmodern architecture
and claimed to be a follower of the internationally acclaimed Mexican architect Luis Barragán
. His buildings became then a mixture of traditional Mexican and modern architecture. Rocha Diaz built in that period important works such as: the SACM recording studios (the first ones in Latin America capable of having a full orchestra with choir), the SACM cinemas that later became the Cineteca Nacional de México, the conventions center in Morelia México, etc.
In 1988 he became numbered academic from the Colegio Nacional de Arquitectos. He died at 60 years old leaving two sons.
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
.
He was born in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
in 1936 and died in 1996. He graduated in 1961 at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico where he studied with Augusto H. Álvarez
Augusto H. Álvarez
Augusto Harold Álvarez García was a Mexican architect.- Biography :...
. In 1960 he spent three months in Japan where he had a big influence on Japanese traditional architecture. In 1962 he married Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide
Graciela Iturbide
- Biography :Graciela Iturbide was born in Mexico in 1942, the eldest of thirteen children. She then married the architect Manuel Rocha Díaz in 1962 and had three children over the next eight years. Iturbide's six year old daughter died in 1970; after this death she turned to photography...
, with whom he had two sons and one daughter that died in 1970. That year he won a contest in order to build the Bella vista Golf Club in México City and from there on he had a successful career. At the end of the 1970s he became a strong supporter of Postmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture
Postmodern architecture began as an international style the first examples of which are generally cited as being from the 1950s, but did not become a movement until the late 1970s and continues to influence present-day architecture...
and claimed to be a follower of the internationally acclaimed Mexican architect Luis Barragán
Luis Barragán
Luis Barragán Morfin was a Mexican architect. He was self-trained.-Early life:Educated as an engineer, he graduated from the Escuela Libre de Ingenieros in Guadalajara in 1923 and was self-trained as an architect.After graduation, he travelled through Spain, France , and...
. His buildings became then a mixture of traditional Mexican and modern architecture. Rocha Diaz built in that period important works such as: the SACM recording studios (the first ones in Latin America capable of having a full orchestra with choir), the SACM cinemas that later became the Cineteca Nacional de México, the conventions center in Morelia México, etc.
In 1988 he became numbered academic from the Colegio Nacional de Arquitectos. He died at 60 years old leaving two sons.
Selected Realizations
- Club de Golf Bella vista, Mexico City, 1971.
- Casa redonda en tabachines, Mexico City, 1973.
- SACM recording studios, Mexico City, 1977.
- SACM cinemas, Mexico City, 1978.
- Morelia Conventions center, Morelia Mexico, 1981.
- Perinorte commercial center, México City, 1990.
Books
- Manuel Rocha Diaz. En búsqueda de una arquitectura mexicana / edited by Ignacio Maya Gómez and Jaime Torres Palacios, 2005