That this book is more than a matter of paying homage to the architecture of Luis Barragán is thanks to the introspective manner in which photographer Kim Zwarts has recorded a number of Barragán’s projects. In short, this is a meeting of two artists, both in essence in search of stillness. It is a confrontation that feels like sheer poetry. Breathtakingly beautiful images give substance to the concept of spirituality.
Coming to it as a third party the designer has tackled this conclave head-on. The essence of his grid is the stillness of white space. Typography, photography and design drawings are strictly segregated. The typography seems to offer little excitement, the page layout all the more. In the elongated columns we recognize the lines of Barragán’s work.
Stillness, too, in the muted use of gold as a spot colour, in addition to being a constant reminder of Zwarts’s colour photography. The extremely large format creates the necessary framework within which the designer has the greatest possible freedom of movement to do justice to both architect and photographer as creators of stillness. How much beauty can a book carry within it?