Architect Juan Sordo Madaleno (1916–1985) was one of the pioneers of the modern movement in Mexican architecture. He founded Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos and was responsible for designing several iconic buildings in Mexico City and across the country. Notable works include the Cine París (1954 – now demolished), the Hotel Presidente Acapulco (1958), the San Ignacio de Loyola Church (1961), and the emblematic Palmas 555 building (1975).
Sordo Madaleno studied at the School of Architecture at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and opened his own practice in 1937, two years before graduating as an architect. Throughout his career, he frequently collaborated with fellow architects such as Luis Barragán, José Villagrán García, Ricardo Legorreta, Francisco Serrano, José A. Wiechers, Jaime Ortiz Monasterio, and Augusto H. Álvarez, with whom he worked as an associate between 1940 and 1947.
This collaborative approach not only challenges the notion of the “individual modern genius”—as exemplified by figures like Mies van der Rohe, Gropius, Aalto, or Le Corbusier—but also reflects the tightly knit culture of Mexican professional life, where education, practice, and social networks have long been intertwined. Perhaps more than in any other country, in Mexico the closeness of the professional elite fostered productive partnerships and cross-generational collaborations.
As a family-run architecture and real estate development firm spanning three generations, Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos has taken on the responsibility of preserving its historical legacy through the compilation and acquisition of archival material related to the practice. This archival project was formally launched in 2014 and has been led by Fernando and Javier Sordo Madaleno de Haro, the firm’s architecture directors, who continue to champion the recovery and conservation of this important architectural heritage.
The Sordo Madaleno Archive consists of a total of 4,600 items, including drawings, reports, photographs, transparencies, and more. The historical archive is managed by the Communication and Marketing Department of SMA, led by Rosalba Rojas as Director and Jimena Orvañanos as Manager. LIGA-ARCHIVOS, in collaboration with the Sordo Madaleno Archive, will gradually present a selection of Juan Sordo Madaleno’s most iconic—and some lesser-known—works in a serialized format.
We must confess that LIGA has a special relationship with the architecture of Juan Sordo Madaleno. When we launched LIGA, Space for Architecture, in 2011, we did so in a small ground-floor space of a beautiful triangular office building on Avenida Insurgentes—an outcome of a collaboration between Juan Sordo Madaleno and Augusto H. Álvarez.
We are deeply grateful for the support and enthusiasm we’ve received from Fernando Sordo Madaleno de Haro and the Sordo Madaleno Archive. A special thanks to Rosalba Rojas, Jimena Orvañanos, and Daniela Cruz.
Series 01 – Iglesia Ignacio de Loyola
Series 02 – Centro Operativo Bancomer
On Tuesday, April 23, 2021, we presented the Sordo Madaleno Archive through an online talk featuring Wonne Ickx (co-founder of LIGA), Fernando Sordo Madaleno (grandson of Juan Sordo Madaleno and Director of Architecture at Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos), Rosalba Rojas (Director of Media and Marketing at Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos), Jimena Orvañanos (Manager of the Sordo Madaleno Archive), and Jose Castillo (co-founder of Arquitectura 911).
