LA-ASP-S01NT-01
LA-ASP-S01NT-02
LA-ASP-S01NT-03
LA-ASP-S01NT-04
LA-ASP-S01NT-05
LA-ASP-S01NT-06
LA-ASP-S01NT-07
LA-ASP-S01NT-08
LA-ASP-S01NT-09
LA-ASP-S01NT-10
LA-ASP-S01NT-11
LA-ASP-S01NT-12
LA-ASP-S01NT-13
LA-ASP-S01NT-14
LA-ASP-S01NT-15
LA-ASP-S01NT-16
LA-ASP-S01NT-17
LA-ASP-S01NT-18
LA-ASP-S01NT-19
LA-ASP-S01NT-20
LA-ASP-S01NT-21
LA-ASP-S01NT-22
LA-ASP-S01NT-23
LA-ASP-S01NT-24
LA-ASP-S01NT-25
LA-ASP-S01NT-26
LA-ASP-S01NT-27
LA-ASP-S01NT-28
LA-ASP-S01NT-29
LA-ASP-S01NT-30
LA-ASP-S01NT-31
LA-ASP-S01NT-32
LA-ASP-S01NT-33
LA-ASP-S01NT-34
LA-ASP-S01NT-35
LA-ASP-S01NT-36
LA-ASP-S01NT-37
LA-ASP-S01NT-38
LA-ASP-S01NT-39
LA-ASP-S01NT-40
LA-ASP-S01NT-41
LA-ASP-S01NT-42
LA-ASP-S01NT-43
LA-ASP-S01NT-44
LA-ASP-S01NT-45
LA-ASP-S01NT-46
One of the most widely circulated photographic series by Armando Salas Portugal is his canonical documentation of the Nonoalco-Tlatelolco Urban Complex, captured in 1966—just one year after its official inauguration by President Adolfo López Mateos. The large-scale multifamily housing project was designed by architect Mario Pani.
The sheer scale of the complex, paired with Salas Portugal’s meticulous, perspective-corrected compositions, produces images that at times resemble architectural renderings more than photographs of the built environment. It is said that when Pani first submitted a set of panoramic images to the French magazine L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, the editors initially declined to publish them, believing the project had not yet been completed. Upon Pani’s insistence, the editorial team reviewed the images more carefully and realized their mistake. They later published the project in a dedicated feature as part of a special issue on Mexican architecture (L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui 109, September 1963).
Salas Portugal’s photographs prominently highlight the complex’s major residential buildings—102 housing blocks in total—as well as the distinctive silhouette of the Torre Insignia (also known as Torre Banobras), the triangular façadeof the Preparatory School, and the concrete vaults of the National Polytechnic Institute’s Auditorium.
