Mario Pani
Encyclopedia
Mario Pani Darqui was a Mexican
architect
and urbanist, one of the most active under the rule of president Miguel Alemán Valdés
. He specialised in architecture
and urbanism
in the first half of the 20th century and gave form to a good part of the urban appearance of Mexico City
, with buildings emblematic and characteristic of this large city like the University City
of the UNAM
, the Unidad Habitacional Nonoalco-Tlatelolco
(following Le Corbusier
's urban principles), the Normal School of Teachers, the National Conservatory of Music
and diverse big housing blocks.
Mario Pani studied and graduated as an architect in France and Mexico. He founded the National College of Architects in 1946. He introduced the international style in Mexico and was the first builder of big housing blocks and applier of urbanist projects. Pani was a great innovator of the urban design of Mexico City and was involved in the construction of some of its newer parts, developing and participating in the more ambitious and important city-planning plans of the 20th century in Mexico, like Ciudad Satélite
(along with Domingo Garcia Ramos and Jose Luis Cuevas
), Tlatelolco, the Juárez and Miguel Alemán condominiums (called multifamiliares), and the condominium in Paseo de la Reforma
, first of its type in Mexico.
His son Knut
is a well-known artist.
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...
and urbanist, one of the most active under the rule of president Miguel Alemán Valdés
Miguel Alemán Valdés
Miguel Alemán Valdés served as the President of Mexico from 1946 to 1952.-Life:Alemán was born in Sayula in the state of Veracruz as the son of General Miguel Alemán González and Tomasa Valdés Ledezma...
. He specialised in architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
and urbanism
Urbanism
Broadly, urbanism is a focus on cities and urban areas, their geography, economies, politics, social characteristics, as well as the effects on, and caused by, the built environment.-Philosophy:...
in the first half of the 20th century and gave form to a good part of the urban appearance of 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...
, with buildings emblematic and characteristic of this large city like the University City
University City
University City is the name of the following locations in the United States:*University City, Missouri*University City, Charlotte, North Carolina*University City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania*University City, San Diego, California...
of the UNAM
Unam
UNAM or UNaM may refer to:* National University of Misiones, a National University in Posadas, Argentina*National Autonomous University of Mexico , the large public autonomous university based in Mexico City...
, the Unidad Habitacional Nonoalco-Tlatelolco
Unidad Habitacional Nonoalco-Tlatelolco
The Unidad Habitacional Nonoalco-Tlatelolco is the largest apartment complex in Mexico, located in the Cuautemoc borough of Mexico City. It was built in the 1960s by architect Mario Pani. Originally, the complex had 102 apartment buildings, with its own schools, hospitals, stores and more, to make...
(following Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
's urban principles), the Normal School of Teachers, the National Conservatory of Music
National Conservatory of Music (Mexico)
The National Conservatory of Music of Mexico is a music conservatory located in the Polanco section of Mexico City, Federal District, Mexico.-History:...
and diverse big housing blocks.
Ciudad Satélite
Satélite is a Greater Mexico City high-class suburban area located in Naucalpan, State of Mexico. Officially the name corresponds only to the homonym neighbourhood, Ciudad Satélite, founded circa 1957...
(along with Domingo Garcia Ramos and Jose Luis Cuevas
Jose Luis Cuevas
José Luis Cuevas is a modernist painter and sculptor from Mexico. Born in 1934, Cuevas derived most of his training outside of the academies. He is considered to be one of the artists from the 1950s in the Rupture Generation that was departing from the politicized and stylized mural school of...
), Tlatelolco, the Juárez and Miguel Alemán condominiums (called multifamiliares), and the condominium in Paseo de la Reforma
Paseo de la Reforma
Paseo de la Reforma is a wide avenue that runs in a straight line, cutting diagonally across Mexico City. It was designed by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig in the 1860s and modeled after the great boulevards of Europe, such as Vienna's Ringstrasse or the Champs-Élysées in Paris...
, first of its type in Mexico.
His son Knut
Knut Pani
- Biography :Knut Pani, son of the architect Mario Pani Darqui, assisted Lothar Kestenbaum in San Miguel de Allende in 1975, and edited the architectural magazine "Arquitectura/México" from 1976 to 1979, in close collaboration with Mathias Goeritz. In 1979 he joined the Art Center College of...
is a well-known artist.
Major buildings and projects
- Escuela Nacional de Maestros (Mexico CityMexico CityMexico 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...
, 1945) - Conservatorio Nacional de Música (Mexico City, 1946)
- Centro Urbano Presidente Alemán (Mexico City, 1949)
- Centro Urbano Presidente Juárez (Mexico City, 1950, severely damaged in 1985)
- Ciudad UniversitariaCiudad UniversitariaCiudad Universitaria , Mexico, is UNAM's main campus, located in Coyoacán borough in the southern part of Mexico City. Designed by architects Mario Pani and Enrique del Moral, it encloses the Olympic Stadium, about 40 faculties and institutes, the Cultural Center, an ecological reserve, the Central...
of the UNAMUnamUNAM or UNaM may refer to:* National University of Misiones, a National University in Posadas, Argentina*National Autonomous University of Mexico , the large public autonomous university based in Mexico City...
(1950-1953) based on main plan designed by then student Teodoro Gonzalez de LeonTeodoro González de LeónTeodoro González de León is a Mexican architect.- Biography :Gonzales de León studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arquitectura of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México from 1942 to 1947. Thanks to a scholarship by the French government, he worked in France for 18 months with Le Corbusier,... - Ciudad SatéliteCiudad SatéliteSatélite is a Greater Mexico City high-class suburban area located in Naucalpan, State of Mexico. Officially the name corresponds only to the homonym neighbourhood, Ciudad Satélite, founded circa 1957...
(1956-1952) - Torre InsigniaTorre InsigniaTorre Insignia is a building designed by Mario Pani Darqui which is located on the corner of Avenida Ricardo Flores Magnon and Avenida de los Insurgentes Norte, in the Tlateloco housing complex in Cuauhtémoc in Mexico City...
(Mexico City, 1962) - Unidad Habitacional Nonoalco-TlatelolcoUnidad Habitacional Nonoalco-TlatelolcoThe Unidad Habitacional Nonoalco-Tlatelolco is the largest apartment complex in Mexico, located in the Cuautemoc borough of Mexico City. It was built in the 1960s by architect Mario Pani. Originally, the complex had 102 apartment buildings, with its own schools, hospitals, stores and more, to make...
(Mexico City, 1964) - Apartment Building in Reforma Ave. (Mexico City, 1956)