Flick through 'Mexico Modern', a new architecture book

The home of artist Pedro Reyes and his wife, fashion designer Carla Fernández in Mexico City, included in architecture book 'Mexico Modern' — The home of artist Pedro Reyes and his wife, fashion designer Carla Fernández in Mexico City

(Image credit: Richard Powers / courtesy of Rizzoli New York)

Warning: Mexico Modern: Architecture and Interiors is likely to induce wanderlust. The new publication by Rizzoli, written by Tami Christiansen and featuring lashings of striking photography by Richard Powers, has just come out, taking readers on an architectural journey through some of the territory's finest modern architecture – both 20th-century and historical.

the cover of book 'Mexico Modern' showing a bright pink wall in a tropical setting

Flick through the pages of 'Mexico Modern'

Mexico has long been a hotbed of architectural activity – and remains to be so, as evidenced in our recent focus on emerging Mexican architects thinking outside the box and pushing the limits in their field. Some of these, and more, are featured in the pages of this book, which aims to chronicle groundbreaking architecture from Mexico – from modernist architecture marvels that we know and love, to new, pioneering works from practices active in the field today.

Agust&iacute;n Hern&aacute;ndez Navarro's modernist home Casa Praxis in Mexico City — Agustín Hernández Navarro's modernist home Casa Praxis in Mexico City

Powers tells Wallpaper* on his experience of shooting in the country and capturing its progressive and visually impressive architecture: 'The whole Mexico Modern project was borne out of COVID! Tami Christiansen contacted me, as she was living in Mexico at the time ... I had collaborated with her when I lived in Sydney, Australia, fifteen years previously.'

'Tami had sourced some incredible projects for us to shoot in Mexico City and Oaxaca. After the first trip, I was hooked and wanted to shoot more. The book idea developed during these trips as Tami and I travelled all over Mexico. Like many of my books, I like to give context to current design, so we shot older modernist projects as well - Barragan, Legoretta, Hernandez... All grand masters, but the current design culture in Mexico is also really exciting. Modern Mexican architecture is compelling because it’s built for light, shadow, and emotion.'

Diversity is the name of the game, here as Christiansen explores a variety of domestic typologies, from organic and small-scale dwellings Carlos H Matos' Casa Monte, to lavish, creative residences (think, the home of artist Pedro Reyes and his wife, fashion designer Carla Fernández in Mexico City) and experimental brutalist architecture sanctuaries - Casa Alferez, a fortress-like holiday home by Ludwig Godefroy and Agustín Hernández Navarro's modernist home Casa Praxis in Mexico City come to mind.

Casa Alferez, a fortress-like holiday home by Ludwig Godefroy, — Casa Alferez, a fortress-like holiday home by Ludwig Godefroy

'I am particularly drawn to the brutalism and the amazing landscapes the houses are set in. For a photographer of architecture and interiors its nirvana! The Augustin Hernandez Praxis house is one of my favourites,' says Powers.

Casa Izar by Taller ADG in Valle de Bravo

'Mexico Modern: Architecture and Interiors' is out 17 February 2026, $65.00, Rizzoli. Buy a copy from TG Jones or Blackwell's

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Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).