Reflecting on Barragán and Kahn: the role of water in 20th century phenomenological architecture

Have you ever sat on the shore of a still pond and watched the reflection of the sky on the water? Or have you found peace from the sound of running water? Whether it be a natural creek or the fountain in your city plaza, water has many functions as a design element due to its ability to connect us to nature. Amongst architecture of the 20th century, there emerged a focus on phenomenology in architectural design, shifting the focus of architecture from serving only your vision to providing a multi-sensory experience. This paper will focus on such sensory environments seen in the work of Mexican architect Luis Barragán (1902-1988) and American architect Louis Kahn (1901-1974). Barragán and Kahn are known for their ability to create an environment that honors both man and divinities through the composition of light, color, and earthly materials. In the context of Martin Heidegger’s concept of the Fourfold, Luis Barragan and Louis Kahn utilized water to connect man’s earthly structure to the heavens. Though Barragán was known for his use of color and Kahn his solid materiality, both designers used water as a multi-functioning element to elevate their environments and connect nature and structure. By analyzing their usage of earthly material and spatial arrangement, we can see how Barragán and Kahn created a multi-sensory experience, developing the design behind phenomenology in regionalist works of architecture.