Page 159 - Libro Max Cetto

Felipe Leal

Das Neue Frankfurt, an urbanist-architectural program that demonstrated a necessary aus-
terity in new construction, a modernity connected to dignified housing fit for everyday life,
an economy of materials, new forms and open spaces. What most influenced him upon his
arrival in Mexico, however, following the decisive previous step of working with Richard
Neutra in California, was the landscape, the environment and the culture of the local. Max
was one of the first people I heard talk about energy conservation, questioning air condi-
tioning in a country with Mexico’s climate and promoting passive energy and the use of
Mexico City’s soil permeability to recharge the aquifer. These ideas may be common today,
but forty years ago they were visionary; Max repeated them often and implemented them
in his buildings. All his work is connected to nature. He did not attack the landscape, but
instead entered into constant dialogue with it.
He was a reflexive, critical, sharp individual. He questioned statistics and the use of
numbers, arguing that one of the great lies is statistics, that the contemporary world had
become a universe of pointless information, that all this data was useless, instead inviting us
to engage in critical thought. In the field of architecture, he criticized with precision build-
ings made with mirrored glass, closing themselves off; he was a lover of cross ventilation
and integration with the environment, making logical use of local materials. He labeled his
work “contemporary rustic” due to its use of stone, wood, light glass, vegetation and clay
combined with concrete, logical materials for adapting to the climate, to the place.
More than a scholar, he was a wise man. He thought, reflected, observed, allowed him-
self the pleasure and time to read. He cultivated great friendships, including important
people. He was close to Juan O'Gorman –who was also the godfather of his daughters
Ana María and Bettina Cetto– and Mathias Goeritz, as well as lesser-known figures such
as Jorge Rubio, an outstanding Yucatecan architect with whom he collaborated on the San
José Purúa complex, but who died at a young age.
The greatest lesson he taught me, I’ve realized over the years, was the example of his so-
briety, both on a personal level and in his plastic language and attitude toward architecture,
one free of excess, a position contrary to the stridency of much contemporary commercial
architecture. He fully understood the role of topographic accidents, the dialogue with con-
structive logic, a love of nature, honesty and the connection between art, architecture and
the city, a trinomial he cultivated each day.
For me, it was an honor to meet and get close to Max Cetto and to have been a part of
the last generation to which he gave his time to share his knowledge of architecture, nature
and humanity’s development. Beyond his sharp vision, he was also a great man, a good per-
son, a humble individual of great sensitivity. I would like to thank Bettina Cetto for inviting
me to pay this short but heartfelt tribute to my master, Max Cetto.

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