Architecture for Gods
The Heroic Military College (Agustín Hernández Navarro and Manuel González Rul, 1976) is a project as emblematic as it is enigmatic. This work, located in the limits of Mexico City, is only accessible to civilians at 80 km/h, from the second floor of the peripheral. At that height, a large monumental plaza can be glimpsed around which a series of buildings emerge that evoke a pre-Hispanic past, but also a dystopian future. In its nearly 50-year history, it has hardly been photographed. The archive material generated encompasses a few series of images, an iconic Luis Miguel music video, and an Arnold Schwarzenegger film.
This is why at LIGA-ARCHIVOS we understood the need to develop a contemporary record of this work. We undertook this initiative with reservations from the probable bureaucracy that we could face. However, the project was well received, the military was very enthusiastic about the idea that an institution devoted to architecture would show interest in documenting its revered Military College. And it is that for the Mexican army, this work is much more than an emblematic building, it represents pride, respect and honor; it is his alma mater as well as his home.
After months of exchanging emails, we agreed on the bases of the visit. We commissioned 5 architecture photographers: Arturo Arrieta, Lorena Darquea, Luis Gallardo, Onnis Luque and Luis Young. The final inventory approved to introduce to the facilities included 7 digital cameras, 3 analog, 16 lenses, 6 tripods and 1 drone. They summoned us on April 27, and when we arrived at the school we discovered that the military had an exhaustive agenda developed for us, a tour in several armored vehicles through the almost 400 hectares that the property covers. During the days that we stayed at the school we got to know the (permitted) areas that make up the program: the central square, the government building, gym, pool, horse riding, practice and defense areas...
The material presented in this exhibition is the result of two days of photographic recording. Although these surveys offered by 5 cross-sectional views offer us other readings of this work, its typology and monumentality make it impossible to understand it exclusively through images. The only request imposed by the army was to exclude the cadets from the images. This is why, although this exhibition presents us with new alternatives, it does not offer a social reading of the Military College nor does it unravel the complex relationships that take place within its walls. Through this LIGA – ARCHIVOS initiative, we show another testimony, hitherto unpublished, of this fundamental work of Mexican architecture: the Heroic Military College.
During the month of June 2022, within the framework of this initiative, we had the opportunity to interview Agustín Hernández Navarro, and share some of the images we took with him. Unfortunately, Agustín passed away last November 2022. We thank his daughter, Lorena Hernández, for all the support provided in the development of this project.
The furniture for the exhibition was commissioned by LIGA in collaboration with Gerdau Corsa, a great ally and sponsor of our initiative. For its construction, a 24” IR beam was used, weighing 55 pounds per foot, made of high-strength, low-alloy steel produced from 100% recycled materials.