Central University City Campus of the UNAM

I visited this WHS in December 2021 on a sunny morning. The most iconic building of the Central University City Campus of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) is the central library. Just next to it, on the terrace leading to the Rectory Tower building, is the UNESCO WHS inscription plaque, just opposite the tunnel leading to the stadium. Like other Mexican WHS, there are no information boards to help guide visitors, not even in Spanish, so you need to come prepared on what you want to see and some background information.

The OUV of this WHS lies in the dynamic fusion of Mesoamerican motifs and revolutionary ideals. The UNAM is an independent university founded in 1910 and built over the succeeding decades with contributions from many leading artists and architects. Apart from the main university buildings, there is a sculpture park with monumental earthworks built around lava flows. The university is one huge quadrangle, entered from above with long wide rows of steps leading down, almost mimicking the urban spaces of the Aztecs, with legible propaganda displayed on the university buildings.

The university's designs were influenced by functionalism, which at one time informed anthropology, psychology and the sciences. In a nutshell, it is the theory that all aspects of a society serve a specific function and are necessary for the survival of that society. This holistic regard for the past holds great meaning in a place with such archaeological evidence of pre-Colombian greatness.

Besides the …

La Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) is a very (if not the most) important university in Latin America, and its campus is gigantic. I honestly had not realised how big it was before exiting the train at the Universidad metro station. Because it is tremendously HUGE! I was expecting some clear paths leading to the center of the campus from the metro station. I only stumbled on a confusing maze of street vendors and food stands before only hitting fences. After some walk, I found a map of the campus and though: Great! I'll be able to find my way around it. Mistake. It was only the map of the Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia UNAM (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine UNAM), that alone has more than 20 buildings!

Nevertheless, I still made my way to main sights of the core zone. Despite the peaceful ambiance and the blooming Jacaranda, I was disappointed. As important as this university is, it did not appear special or unique to me. La Biblioteca Central, even though it might look like a giant owl or an oversized ghetto blaster, is an amazing piece of art and a valuable WHS. It is very beautiful and the murals made of thousands of colored tiles represent an extraordinary construction effort and a highly creative and innovative feat by Juan O'Gorman. Sadly, nothing else on the campus really stands out. Some buildings are worth mentioning: el Auditorio Alfonso Caso is notably beautiful. Unfortunately, the mural …

We nearly missed this one, wandering through from Copilco metro station we were met by a series of locked gates, seeming to show the whole campus could was out of bounds. Fortunately a local shop employee was able to direct us to a back entrance. This meant our first impression wasn't that great, though the tatty looking student union office covered in revolutionary left wing leaflets and graffiti certainly did bring a nostalgic and knowing smile to my lips.

Finally in the main precincts I was actually more impressed than I thought I would be. It felt familiar, however there was evidently something a little special about it. Obviously there are was the huge mosaics on the library. They are more intelligible as a history of Mexico up close, looking less like a giant owl than I had previously thought. However it was the quality of some of the other buildings that really grabbed me. My highlight was the post graduate centre and attached Auditorio Alfonso Caso elevated on slender piloti. The sheer amount of building sized mosaics dotted around the campus really started to make an impression.

My wife reflected that this was the WHS she felt most "dragged" to Mexico City, however she was happy to see the large Rivera mosaic on the Olympic stadium across the road, and I got another tick on yet another list. If you are heading there outside term time try the entrance next to this stadium on ave. Insurgents as it seems …

I fell in love with this campus the more time I spent within its boundaries. Firstly, there are several dominant murals, but there are also several "hidden" ones that I stumbled across while exploring. The Modernist buildings really compliment each other, and though often of eclectic designs, really are stunning taken as a whole. UNAM is an institution rich in History, with multiple Presidents of Mexico and Latin America being alumni, as well as writers, artists, and filmmakers such as Alfonso Cuarón. I could imagine walking the grounds and attending classes in these illustrious steel and glass buildings. One of the most stunning works on campus is the 'The Conquer of Energy' mural by José Chávez Morado (1952 - pictured top left).

During my visit on a Sunday afternoon, there were several students playing Quidditch. (Yes, that Quidditch!) The sky was blue, the weather was very pleasant, and I had all these structures and murals largely to myself. 

From Luis Barragan House, I continued my modernist journey to UNAM or Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, another UNESCO listed modern architecture site in Mexico City, by metro. I started from Copilco Station, but since I arrived almost 5 PM, there were no students for me to follow for direction; I had to walk to the direction where students came from instead. Luckily, I found the gate of the university and the car park area of Faculty of Medicine. The university was in full swing with late evening activities like group studying, meditation class, English club, drama play rehearsal, soccer, basketball etc. At first, I was quite awkward to walk around as I felt that it was not a place for tourists, but after watched those students for a while, it reminded me my university or even high school times, and that made the visit more personal than I thought.

The first interesting building I saw was the Cosmic Ray Pavilion, since there was a basketball competition on the foreground of this interesting looked building, the whole area was full with spectators and team supporters, so I only saw the pavilion from the other side of basketball field, but still I was able to admire the nearby giant mural of Franciso Eppens, the corn is probably the think that I like most from this mural. The next one was the mural at auditorium; personally, I did not like this one for its strange depictions, but it …

From the Copilco metro station, it is not immediately clear which way you have to go to the university campus. The station lies in a built-up area and I did not see any signs directing to the UNAM. But I did notice lots of medical students in white coats and decided to follow them. In about 5 minutes we duly arrived at the Faculty of Medicine, the first complex of the university area. It's a bit strange to walk here as a tourist as all the other people around you are staff and students. But you can just walk in and the general atmosphere is very relaxed.

The first great murals already are at this Faculty - rising up enormously behind your back! And at the edge of a basketball field where students were playing, I noticed right away one of the more famous structures of the campus: the Cosmic Ray Pavillion by Felix Candela. There are no information panels or any other signs that will guide you around the university and I forgot to print out a map. That proved to be no problem though: from the Faculty of Medicine you just head out straight ahead and you will pass all the highlights and end at the Olympic Stadium. I started walking on the right-hand side and took in the other side on my way back to the metro station.

The central area is occupied by a landscape garden designed by Luis Barragán. This part of the …

Although it was only inscribed in 2007 it is somewhat surprising to see that this easily accessible site in an easily accessible city still hasn’t been reviewed almost a year later. When I first visited Mexico City in 1971 it was inconceivable NOT to go out to see it, since the Library building in particular, with its O’Gorman mosaics, was a world famous iconic building occupying much the same space in “world consciousness” as the Sydney Opera House does today. However, much time has passed since those days only 3 years after Mexico hosted the 1968 Olympic Games and had received a degree of exposure since unrepeated (Indeed the Olympic stadium is part of this inscription). I had felt unable to do a review based on visits 36 and 25 years earlier but went back yet again during our trip round Central Mexico in Mar 2008 to assess how time had treated both the site and my perception of it.

“Modern” architecture (if a building designed at the start of the 1950s can be described as “modern”!) tends in my experience often not to survive time particularly well – either physically (e.g one cries to see the state of the buildings in Brasilia) or aesthetically. But we visited on a sunny Saturday morning, the concrete was light, the grass was green and the Jacaranda trees were in full flower – the architecture was being given a helping hand by nature! Students in cloaks and mortar boards were lining up, presumably …