A tribute to Mexican architect Luis Barragán (1902 - 1988), one of the 20th century's major Latin American architects, is being paid in a comprehensive retrospective put together by the Barragan Foundation in cooperation with the Vitra Design Museum.

This exhibition gives in-depth access to the many facets of Barragán's work, with many original documents from the Barragan Foundation's archives on show for the first time; it also brings out the fundamental thrust of his architectural development and illustrates the role he played in Mexico and the world context. The exhibition aims to put across a new, more discriminating view of Barragán's oeuvre and personality, in particular by presenting his interpretation of architecture, his work methods, the contemporary cultural environment and his links to international modernism. Barragán who is known mainly for his masterful colour and spatial compositions is also spotlighted as a landscape architect and innovative investor.

Using plans, sketches, photographs and models, the retrospective covers a representative selection of buildings which were completed as well as projects which were not executed. The comprehensive documentation left by the Mexican photographer Armando Salas Portugal provides the Barragan Foundation with further original documents that reflect Luis Barragán's work as seen by a contemporary.

To do full justice to Barragán's vibrant, expressive architecture, the exhibition adopted a visual approach. The historical planning material and pictures are ideally complemented by large-scale illustrations, projections and installations.