Mario Pani: from the imagined city to the inhabited city

Abstract

In the mid-twentieth century, during the period of greatest growth in Mexico City, the imaginaries of a series of intellectuals shaped the capital city. We are particularly interested in highlighting the case of Mario Pani, an architect that represented his time. He led a group of professionals and projected emblematic places that have been appropriated and represented in different ways. Such is the case of Ciudad Universitaria, the Miguel Aleman housing complex, Tlatelolco and Ciudad Satelite. Based on the abovementioned, this article aims to analyze the thought of this man and the way in which his work was materialized in Mexico City, based on the values of nationalism and modernity, emblematic of the post-revolutionary era. We also seek to study the ways in which these places where appropriated by its inhabitants. Therefore, the text is organized according to the work and thought of Mario Pani in three main parts: the city imagined, the city built and, finally, the city inhabited and then artistically represented.