Mexican Equestrian Estate Considered Barragan’s Valedictory and an Execution of Color and Form Equalling that of Cubist Painters such as Pablo Picasso
New York, N.Y.—Christie’s International Real Estate is pleased to announce the opportunity to purchase the globally acclaimed, Cuadra San Cristóbal, a triumphant equestrian estate located in Mexico City and executed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Luis Barragán in 1968.
“This is without question one of the finest examples of architecture as art, recognized as such around the globe,” says Rick Moeser, Senior Vice President of Christie’s International Real Estate. “The estate has been meticulously maintained and so is ready for a seamless handover to the new owners and future stewards of this important property.”
The more than seven-acre compound captures the atmosphere of a palazzo with its main house, stables with three-bedroom apartment, two-bedroom guesthouse, and two L-shaped swimming pools, one for people and a larger one for the horses. A cascade of water, a Barragán signature, spills into the large pool creating the sound that Barragán himself described as “peace, joy, and restful sensuality.” The horses enter their pool through two rectangular openings in a long, rose pink wall that Barragán, himself a horse enthusiast, scaled to the animals’ large size. On the other side of the wall, hidden from the view from the main house, is the stable area and track.
Barragán’s work has been described as minimalist but the colors and textures of San Cristóbal are nothing less than sumptuous. In addition to the wall of brilliant pink are contrasting walls of deep purple, rust red, and stark white, all framed by a vibrant blue sky. As Architectural Digest wrote: It’s almost as if he was trying to distill everything he had ever admired about form, light, and even motion into one project.”
Barragán designed his homes as sanctuaries and showed great restraint in his use of large-scale windows, interspersing instead a generous number of skylights to allow the sun to wash over the home’s white walls and floors of polished stone and wood. The main house, with its four bedrooms and two additional for staff, maximizes areas of quiet seclusion for the family while a picture window in the living room overlooks the horse pool and plaza.
Cuadra San Cristóbal is proudly offered by Christie’s International Real Estate and J.Q. Bienes Raices.
