Mar 29, 2018
Mario Pani’s 107th Birthday
This Doodle’s Key Themes
Rome was not built in a day, and neither was Mexico’s architectural jewel, Mexico City. Today, the city is renowned as a beacon of modern design, but many of its prominent buildings can be traced back to the 20th century when visionary talents shaped the country’s capital into a mega metropolis. Primary among these was Mario Pani.
Born in Mexico City on this day in 1911, Pani studied architecture both in his home country and Paris, France. From the 1930s through the 1960s, he developed some of Mexico’s most emblematic buildings, always with an eye towards urban growth.
Pani changed the face of the city with the suburban area of Ciudad Satélite (developed with Domingo Garcia Ramos and Jose Luis Cuevas) and various complexes including: the housing project Multifamilar Miguel Alemán tower blocks, the main campus of of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (U.N.A.M.), the Unidad Habitacional Nonoalco-Tlatelolco (inspired by pioneering architect Le Corbusier), the National Conservatory of Music, and the Nonoalco Tlatelolco Urban Complex (his most extensive residential complex, featuring the mosaic-emblazoned Insignia Tower).
Today’s Doodle was created by Mario Pani’s son, artist Knut Pani, who references some of the structures inextricably linked to his father. Knut explains: “The buildings are part of the Tlatelolco Urban Center in Mexico City (12,000 apartments in 102 buildings) and its triangular tower, so characteristic of M.P. The curved element is symbolic of Pani's housing projects of the 1940's."
Happy 107th birthday, Mario Pani!
Original sketch of the Doodle:
The portrait image of Mario Pani is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.
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