Change and Permanence. Modern Architecture in Historic Centers of Mexico.

Abstract

In Mexico, architectures of different temporalities have settled in the historic centers; Said event has been the object of superimpositions and aggregations to adapt them to the requirements of each era and are, in this sense, a palimpsest of our history. Twentieth-century modernity was no exception. As a historical paradigm, it replaced the academicism, historicism, and eclecticism of the Porfirian regime in Mexico, through different manifestations that were classified as modern. So, to speak of the irruption of modern architecture in the historic centers of the country during the intermediate period of the 20th century is to refer to the implantation of a footprint equivalent to that left by other architectural paradigms, previous or later, which were the search of a new path of development that would support the social demands of a new regime, and that required consolidation and legitimization through a more economical, more practical and representative architecture of the identity values associated with a post-revolutionary Mexico; a secular, nationalist and regionalist architecture, which would reaffirm the commitment to its history and autochthonous development, but also international, which would reflect the growing insertion of the country in the new industrial era of the modern world. For this, first-rate architects, engineers and urban planners contributed, who left an inalienable mark on our urban culture in these environments. Thus, the historic centers incorporated manifestations of inspiration up to the present.