10 Facts About Mexican architecture

The Mesoamerican civilizations that arose there developed a sophisticated Mexican architecture that evolved from simplistic to complex forms; in the north it was manifested in buildings of adobe and stone, the multi-storied housing as seen in Paquime, and the cave dwellings of the Sierra Madre Occidental.

The syncretic Indian-Christian mode of Mexican architecture developed organically as Indians interpreted European architectural and decorative features in the native, pre-Columbian style called .

Balbas used estipites to convey a sense of fluidity, but his Mexican architecture followers flattened the facades and aligned the estipites, with less dynamic results.

Mexican architecture created a stronger horizontal division between the first and second levels, which derived Mexican ultra Baroque from the Spanish version.

The ultra Baroque appeared when Mexican architecture mines were producing great wealth, prompting numerous building projects.

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The true capital of Mexican architecture Baroque is Puebla, where the abundance of hand-painted tiles and local gray stone led to a very personal and localized evolution of style, with a pronounced Indian flavor.

Neoclassicism in Mexican architecture was directly linked to crown policies that sought to rein in the exuberance of the baroque, considered in "bad taste" and creating public buildings of "good taste" funded by the crown, such as the Palacio de Mineria in Mexico City and the Hospicio Cabanas in Guadalajara, and the Alhondiga de Granaditas in Guanajuato, all built in the late colonial era.

The representation of the local in Mexican architecture was achieved mainly through themes and decorative motifs inspired by pre-Hispanic antiquity.

The first building based on the ancient Mexican architecture motifs built in the 19th century was the Monument to Cuauhtemoc executed by engineer Francisco Jimenez and the sculptor Miguel Norena.

Mexican architecture used the H-shaped window frame commonly seen in Baroque palaces, and set up a mixed linear retaining wall on the top of the building.