Joy Ride by David Martin
Foundation Project, 2016
Joy Ride: An Architect’s Journey to Mexico’s Ancient and Colonial Places is a journal of travels through Mexico that uses a series of sketches, photographs, and observations recorded and gathered over an extensive sojourn across the country. David Martin, architect, as a native Californian and itinerant traveler through Mexico, had a fundamental sense of the country’s history, terrain, and culture. It wasn’t until this pivotal trip, with a bit of time and a sketchbook in hand, that David had an epiphany. (continued below)
The Joy Ride Book
David discovered Mexico’s sophisticated cultural landscape, often invisible on the surface however also omnipresent. From an architect’s point of reference, David gathered his observations and explored three examples of Mexico’s timeless sophistication.
He started his quest with the foundation of Mexico, its sacred Pre-Columbian cities and their overwhelming sculptural qualities. Next, he studied five stone Jesuit missions on the Baja Peninsula that were built between 1698 and 1785; in essence they are the first permanent structures in California. And finally he walked, mapped, and studied several colonial towns to understand how these urban centers were shaped by the placement of streets designed for pedestrian movement, sustainable planning, and the integration of public spaces with ritual.
Viewed through the eyes of a pre-eminent architect, Joy Ride brings a fresh understanding of the culture and history of Mexico and will undoubtedly provide inspiration to those designers looking to our past to find the future.
- Date: October 2016
- Category: News