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Casa San Buenaventura / Manuel Parra

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 Casa San Buenaventura by Manuel Parra was built from 1991-1993. Parra, true to his style, incorporated many reclaimed architectural elements and building materials from demolished historic buildings.    The house is located in the gated ecological community, Tlalpuente II. The community, along with the original Tlalpuente, has a set of strict environmental guidelines geared at keeping the area more rural and lessening the impact of the development, which is located amidst a forest. Permeable surfaces, along with water and energy conservation measures are required.  They also call the house Castillo (Castle). "On May 3, 1993, the Day of the Holy Cross, this house was finished with happiness. Mr. and Mrs. German and Pia Flores built it with the help of Master Trini Quintana and his assistant Manuel Parra." Parra incorporated many ceramics into his projects. Some were by him and many were by Gorky González. Even works by Parra were fired in Gorky's workshop. ...
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Lomas de Chapultepec / Manuel Parra

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Private residence by Manuel Parra, located in Lomas de Chapultepec, Mexico City. The owner of the house has lived there since he was a young child. His father commissioned Parra to design the home in the early 1960s. Manuel Parra (1911–1997) designed and built hundreds of houses, mostly in Mexico. Various sources state that he created anywhere from 100 to 500 residences. He was inspired to study architecture by his uncle, architect Antonio Rivas Mercado, who designed the Ángel de la Independencia on Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City. In addition to architecture, Parra was a sculptor, furniture designer, and ceramicist. He was active from the 1930s to the 1990s, and this house was built right in the middle of his career. I also visited a house he designed in the 1990s, which I will post separately. Parra's signature was the utilization of materials from colonial buildings, which he collected from all around Mexico. He salvaged these architectural elements and materials from demolis...
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