House in the Air [1991]

Agustín Hernández Navarro’s forms sit in a special place between ancient monument and the futuristic space-age, a uniquely realised portfolio of works that demonstrate real-world ambition devoted to that which is more commonly relegated to computer-generated sci-fi backdrops. For his own Mexico City residence, this confluence arrives at a pair of sculptural, monolithic vertical concrete slabs that rise upwards, with an aperture facilitating the house’s primary volume as if a vessel is being restrained before it soars outwards. Its diagram explicitly references the square, the circle and the triangle – with these most basic of geometries extruding and twisting themselves within space to compose a vastly dynamic structure. Here the House seeks higher ground – not with mind to the adjacent plots but rather the sky it rises against.